The Joys of Lycanthropy
by SunshineAndSecrets
Summary: Bella's life is turned upside down in the span of a week. Shifters and Vampires and Lycans, oh my! Now she must learn to live with powerful new abilities, a deadly family secret, old friends turned enemies, new enemies turned friends, and strangest yet, a mate. Suddenly Bella is powerful and important, no longer a pawn but instead a warrior. BxA, EdxOC, JxOC, RxEm, CxEs.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Newwww story! Yay! If anyone reading this is waiting on Dragon Tales or a sequel from Hunter, those are coming but not for maybe a month or so. Bit of writer's block and this is my cure. I've got sixty or so pages written so far, so updates should be frequent enough as long as my internet holds.**

**This story is going to be a bit more relaxed, and very, very fluffy :3 Beware. Also, enjoy.**

"Jump, Bella!" Voices called out bellow me, filled with laughter.

"Yeah, I dare you!" Another voice, this one female, rang up to me.

The wind whipped around my frame, chilly despite the summer heat. It gusted up from the ocean bellow me and smelled strongly of brine and salt. Small copper dots bobbed around below me, and I could barely pick out their feature from here. Two belonged to my best friends, Jake Black and Leah Clearwater. They were the ones laughing and calling out to me. Beside Leah, her brother Seth floated on his back and flashed a thumbs up at me. On Jake's right two of his close friends, Quil and Embry, were splashing one another. This cliff wasn't the tallest, but it was a good twenty five or thirty feet down. I laughed.

"Oh, you dare me, huh?" I joked back. "Well alright then!" I backed up a few paces, before sprinting and vaulting off the edge of the earth. The air rushed up to meet me, cradling my prone and mortal frame. It roared in my ears and to my mind it seemed like a rebuff for being reckless and dumb. My heart though, well it was racing. Like a flipped switch my adrenaline began coursing out and I couldn't help but let a delighted cry slip through my lips. So enraptured was I, my arms and legs didn't even flail. I was entranced by the danger and the speed, utterly comfortable. A twinge in my gut, that odd new one I had grown used to over the last month, seemed to agree with me. Too soon, the water had arrived and it welcomed me with open arms.

The impact jarred only for a moment and then I was below. I let the current carry me for a few moments, eyes open despite the sting of the salt, gazing around me. This still and silent world was equally transfixing as the open air, but eventually my lungs screamed their protest. I looked upward and kicked, breaking the surface to see a round a smiling faces.

Jake swam up to me and clapped me on the back. "And she lives! Ha ha, another survivor. Wanna go again?"

I swept my now damp hair back on my head and wiped water from my eyes. "Ugh, I'd like to but I've gotta go take care of the old man. It's like four, right?"

Quil, who wore a waterproof watch, brought it up to check. "Four o' seven, yeah."

"Damn, can't Charlie just make himself a sandwich?" Leah grumbled, beginning to paddle back towards the shore. We turned to follow her lead.

"Tried once, ended up with a cold hot dog and mustard between a slice of rye and a slice of wonderbread."

"Ew," Leah said, nose scrunched up.

"I'd eat it," Seth said, laughing.

"You'd eat roadkill," Embry mocked, splashing water at the youngest boy.

Back on shore us girls wrung out our long hair and the boys shook like dogs, laughing as they tried to get as much water back on the others as possible. Leah and I just chuckled and rolled our eyes.

"Bella, just call Charlie over here. I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind him staying for Dinner. Burgers and fries?"

I smiled and said, "If it's free food, I don't see why he'd say no. I'll give him a call."

I had left my cell back at Jake's tiny red house. The six of us walked back, barefoot and scantily clad in the warm summer sun. Sun! Here in Forks! Of course we had gone swimming, despite the fact that the water was still springtime-cold. Back on land, however, the sun dappled between the trees and mottled us with light. After spending so much time down here on the Rez this past month even I was starting to look tan. Granted, not as tan as my friends, but tanner. As soon as we rounded the bend and Jake's house came into view the boys took off, racing. Seth fell behind but he was laughing all the same, and Leah and I began laughing too as Embry stuck out a foot, tripped Quil, and sent him rolling in a cloud of dust. The boy came up hacking and coughing.

"Dude!" He cried out indignantly but Jake and Seth and Embry just laughed on.

Leah and I dragged him up by the elbows when we came level with him. "What a dick, huh?" Leah asked with a laugh.

"You got that right! Oh well. Maybe that's why he's been spending so much time with you-know-who lately," Embry scoffed, oblivious to the hurt that flashed in Leah's eyes.

I frowned slightly and, trying to lighten the mood, asked, "Voldemort?"

Leah cracked a smile at that and punched my shoulder lightly, and I knew she appreciated the effort. "Har har," she said dryly. "I doubt it. If Embry had joined team Sam he'd probably have one of those stupid tattoos by now. I think he's just a jerk by nature."

A month ago, at the beginning of the summer, Sam had left Leah for one of her best friends, Emily. None of us knew what had prompted such a sudden decision, just that two days after Emily had returned from college she had a bad encounter with a bear in the woods and when Sam had gone to visit her with his dad, sparks had flown. He came back and broke it off with Leah. Me, being closest to Leah at the time, had swooped in and done my best to pick up the pieces. The result had been she, Jake, Seth, Embry, Quil and I growing closer and closer until we were, as of now, inseparable. Leah used that as justification that the break up hadn't been all bad, but I knew it still hurt her.

Strange thing was, though, that after the break up the young people here at the Rez had kind of started to divide. After Sam had ditched, two other boys named Paul and Jared had, one after the other, gone from at least associating with the others to being glued to Sam's side. They'd barely speak to anyone else now and they'd all gotten these odd, tribal tattoos. Stranger yet, despite showing all signs of a gang or at least trouble in some shape or form, the elders seemed to adore them. The rest of us coped by banding together, and 'we' eventually became 'us' and 'them.'

We walked into Jake's house to find Jake and Embry tussling around the living room, apparently arguing over who had won the race. "I was the first one inside, Black! I won!" Embry growled, trying to get Jake into a headlock, but he was so much smaller than Jake.

"In your dreams, I out ran you since the beginning! Who cares where we ended up, I still smoked you!" Jake tried to flip Embry down to pin him but the smaller boy sent a knee into his gut.

Jake wheezed out, "You little prick, I'll-"

"Alright, boys," an older, raspy voice entered the fray and we all paused to see Billy roll into the kitchen from the back rooms. "Easy now. Don't want anything broken today."

Jake and Embry split and stood, helping each other up as if nothing had ever happened. "Hey Pops, can Charlie eat with us tonight? I'll grill." Billy just smirked at his son, knowing that was code for, 'Can my friends stay longer?'

Billy looked over us all for a moment, wet and dusty and all wearing shitty grins. "Why not. Give 'im a call, then."

Jake grinned and pushed me towards the phone. "I can still walk, ya know," I grumbled good-naturedly. I picked up their old wall phone and dialed my home number into the base, waited as it rang twice.

My dad's gruff voice answered, "Swan residence, Charlie speaking."

"Hey Dad!" I said brightly. "The Black's invited us to stay for burgers and fries. Is that cool with you if we eat with them tonight?"

Charlie chuckled and when he answered a certain amount of his gruffness was gone, softening now that he knew it was me on the line. "Sure, I'd like to see Billy again. Are you staying in the tree house again?"

I smiled at the mention. Three weeks ago the six of us had picked a big old tree off of Jake's property and, log by log, had built a tree house to stand against any other. It even had a loft, the product of my engineering genius. Almost four nights out of the week since at least some of us had slept there. I turned to the others and said, "Charlie wants to know if I'm staying in the tree house?"

Leah laughed and said, "Sure! Let's do it. You guys in?" She asked, turning to the others.

"Sure," Seth grinned.

"I'm down," Jake grinned, and Quil and Embry nodded as well.

"Yeah, I will be," I told Charlie and heard his amused chuckle on the other side.

"Figured. Well, what time do they want me?"

It was decided that Charlie would show in an hour or so. Leah offered to bring me clothes to sleep in so he didn't need to venture into my room (a prospect I knew he found mildly horrifying) but I did ask him to bring my cell phone charger. We had bought seven extension cords and wired them from the house to a power strip inside the tree house so we could hook up projectors and screens, cell chargers and radios if we wanted to. I hung up and turned back to see the others lounging around in front of the TV, flipping through the channels. I laughed and jumped onto the couch, flopping down across Seth, Jake, and Leah's laps.

"Dude!" Leah laughed, trying to roll me onto the floor.

"Nope!" I crowed, rolling over to wrap my arms around her neck while my legs twined around Seth's waist, pinning Jake between us all.

"Dammit Leah, you made her go all... anaconda on us!"

"Don't blame me for this!" Leah grumbled, still smiling and still trying to push me away, though it was more halfhearted now.

"Dog pile!" Quil and Embry called out and with no warning besides that, launched themselves on top of me. Three simultaneous 'umf!'s came from the three bellow me, and despite the newly found pressure on my lungs, I couldn't help but laugh along with the two boys proudly sitting atop us all.

"You break that couch and you're all hand building a new one!" Billy said with a good humor and we all smiled. I released suddenly and rolled onto the floor, taking Quil and Embry down with me.

"Oww!" Quil moaned.

"The dangers of dog piles!" I said with a shrug.

Some might think that almost thirty burgers was a bit much for only eight people, but those some people had never eaten in the Black household. Jake was a black hole when it came to food. I could easily it two burgers, so could Leah. Seth, Billy, and Charlie might put away three, and Quil and Embry could do four. Jake? He got all the rest. It was amazing and horrifying to watch him eat, really. It was only recently that I had grown truly worried, and that was only because Quil and Embry were beginning to follow the same pattern Jake had. Sudden growth spurts, gaining muscle, all that. Jake stood at a whopping six feet and five inches, but at the beginning of the summer he could barely reach six on a good day. I truly feared for the Black's grocery bill.

"So what'd you do today, Bells?" Charlie asked around a bite of food. I didn't bother to swallow or even stop chewing because I knew the others would answer for me.

"First we were down at the creek catching fish, but Leah caught the most," Seth answered.

"'En we wen' 'iking up tofha m'dow an' raced 'oads," Quil mumbled through a mouth of food.

"What?" Charlie asked, brows knit.

"We raced toads," Leah answer, more eloquently.

Charlie paused for a moment then reiterated, "_What?_" He chuckled too, obviously finding it amusing.

"It was Bella's idea!" Jake defended. "Figures too, seeing as she won."

I just shrugged and raised my hands in mock surrender. "What can I say! I am a master of... toads." I crinkled my nose up and laughed.

"After we played frisbee on the beach, then went cliff diving," I finished up.

"Cliff diving, eh," Charlie grumbled. He knew I went diving, though he was under the assumption that we only jumped from the low ones, no more than ten feet. He was _wrong_ of course, but if he grumbled about the tens he would have a fit if he knew about the twentys and thirtys. We kept that bit secret.

"Hello, still in one piece here!" I said, rolling my eyes.

"That doesn't mean you'll be so-"

"Who wants desert?" Billy interjected with a smile, knowing that an old argument was about to rear it's ugly head. "We've got apple pie and ice cream."

Charlie did all but perk his ears up, and his attention was fully diverted. "Both, please."

I just laughed quietly and shook my head.

"So whats the plan for tomorrow?" I asked.

"Dunno," Leah said with a shrug. "Wanna work on that fixer-uper project we were talking about?"

Jake, Seth, Quil, and Embry smiled and I sensed we had a winner. "Hell yeah," I said, smiling as well.

Another little secret my dad didn't know of were the three bikes Jake had picked up on the sly from a friend of his, which he, Leah, and I were repairing. The others were along for the ride, seeing as they didn't have bikes of their own, but they loved to hang around and help. We were nearly done too, only a few tweaks here and there before we painted and then they were done.

"Maybe we could even finish, who knows," Jake said with a smile.

For all that Charlie was a cop, he could be very oblivious when it was most convenient. For example right now his father senses should be blaring, sirens going off that something was up, but instead his gaze was fixed on whatever sport flashed across the TV. I smiled and turned back to Jake. "Yeah, hopefully."

After dinner we all filed out of the house and in the sunset light headed to the tree house. We were up into the wee hours of the morning, all half in and half out of our sleeping bags which formed a circle of sorts. A lantern, set on dim light, stood in the middle of us and cast pale light and dark shadows all around the wooden walls. We told ghost stories, though most of them were repeats by now, and old jokes too. We made plans for the rest of the summer, things we wanted to do such as build another tree house somewhere nearby so we could play ultimate capture the flag, maybe. We wanted to go paint balling and wanted to spend a few days out camping with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Finally Seth fell asleep, with Quil on on his heels. Leah was out soon after and so was Embry. Finally, just Jake and I remained, drowsily mumbling to one another about school next year. The school on the Rez would be shutting down for repair and the kids would instead be attending Forks High, which was my school.

Finally Jake yawned and mumbled, "'Night, Bells. See ya in the morning."

"Night Jake."

When I woke up, I immediately knew that something was wrong. Jake was shifting, rolling around in his bag, moaning. I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes, then paled. Jake was covered in a sickly pallor, his face a milky representation of his usual bronze, and he tossed and turned without waking up. I quickly lay a hand across his forehead and gasped, only to find he was burning with fever.

"Aw, shit! Leah!" I said, turning and shaking her awake.

"Wha? Whazzat?" She mumbled and I shook her again.

"Jake's sick," I said before sliding out of my bag and shaking the others up as well.

I turned around as the other boys were shaking out their hair and rubbing their eyes to find Leah coaxing some cool water into a bleary eyed but conscious Jake.

"We've got to get him down," I said.

"The pulley?" Leah asked. "Might work."

We had used a platform of sheet metal and ropes to haul logs and planks up to build, though it now sat inert on the roof seeing as building was done. There were no walls but Jake was in no state to climb down on his own and none of us would be able to carry him.

"Only if someone rode down with him." I turned to Seth and said, "Go wake Billy."

Seth nodded and without a word zipped down the ladder.

"I'm lightest, I'll go down with him and make sure he doesn't fall. Quil, Embry, stay up here and work the ropes. Leah, can you meet me at the bottom to help get him up and moving?"

They all nodded and without argument went to their jobs. The boys re-rigged the pulley and after Leah and I hoisted the gargantuan boy to his feet, we shuffled him out to the little platform outside to see the sheet metal ready and waiting. Rope attached to all four corners and I couldn't help but reexamine the knots with a quick eye. Quil and Embry stood at the ready, each holding a rope for one of the sides.

"Alright, let's get him on," I grumbled to Leah, gritting my teeth against Jake's weight. He was still only semi-lucid and wasn't helping much.

I stepped shakily onto the platform first and pulled as Leah more or less pushed Jake onto my lap. I held his moaning form still and gave Quil and Embry a thumbs up when I felt stable enough. They slowly began to lower us and I tried my best not to think of all the loads of wood we'd tipped and had to re-pile for a second try. I figured it'd be harder to re-pile Jake and I. Finally, and not soon enough, we bumped down onto solid earth, Leah was there waiting to help me get Jake on his feet and Quil and Embry weren't far behind.

Seth ran up, slightly panting and said, "Billy's got Dad coming with the truck to take Jake to the tribe doctor."

"Great," I grunted under Jake's weight.

"Here, we'll get him," Quil and Embry said, worry showing in the lines of their faces.

Jake was moved as quickly as possible and we did indeed find Harry waiting on the road with the truck. "Get him up here, boys." Harry said with a frown. We knew he meant the truck bed because he and Billy sat up front. Quil, Leah, Seth, and I helped Embry get him up and in. "Alright Embry, come on. The rest of you, thanks, but we'll take it from here."

"What?" Seth asked, bewildered. "But Dad-"

"No buts, Seth. You know how small Jim's house is, just no room for all of you. Besides, Sam is there now, he'll be able to help us."

Before we could protest the truck rumbled away, leaving a bewildered Embry in the back, and the rest of us bewildered on the side of the road.

"Of course Sam is there, all cozy with the elders," Quil said with a sneer. "Jake's gonna hate waking up to that."

Leah had a deep frown on her face and sighed. I turned to her with my brows drawn questioningly and she just shook her head, finally saying, "It's just weird."

"That Your dad practically just kidnapped Jake? A little, yeah."

"Well that, but also the fact that what Jake is sick with, it seems like it was the same thing Sam had right before... well, the incident."

I frowned and said, "Yeah. Hey, weren't Paul and Jared sick too before they joined Team Sam?"

Seth blinked and said, "What, they bonded in their sick beds or something?"

"I don't know, it's just weird." I shrugged. We turned back to the tree house to grab our things and then one by one headed home.

**A/N: Whadya think? :D This was mostly intro. Next chapter: Enter Cullen Clan!**

**I would really appreciate reviews to let me know what you all think (: Thanks, and I love you all!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'mm baaackkk! :D Good news, huh? And I'm here with the long awaited second chapter! Well, semi-long awaited. It picks up from here though, don't you worry. Thanks for the benefit of the doubt!**

Things only got worse from there. Jake refused to see or speak to me since he had fallen ill. What was worse, Quil, Embry, Seth, _and_ Leah fell sick with the same... _whatever_ that Jake had and also dropped off the face of the earth. Charlie watched me like a hawk, assuming that I was next, but nothing ever happened. Meanwhile I sat at home, healthy as a horse and bored out of my mind. They weren't even texting me. Each day that passed in silence had me more and more concerned, not only because of their absence but also because of how strangely their parents were acting. Billy wouldn't even talk to Charlie, and Harry and Sue, who had always loved me like their own children, were suddenly blunt and cold. It was like it was national turn-your-back-on-Bella week or something.

My mood deteriorated quickly and before long I was just laying on my bed and staring at the ceiling. Summer work that a week ago I would never have imagined doing until the week before school began was finished in two days. I spent a day and a half cleaning the house from top to bottom, I even organized Charlie's damn record collection. I organized my closet and went grocery shopping twice. It was when Charlie came home to find me staring at a blank TV screen that he finally said something.

"Bells... What about your school friends?"

"Huh?" I asked, dazed.

"Angela and... and that Stanley girl. You haven't seen them at all since you went on break. Why not give 'em a call?"

I shrugged and said, "Angela's working and Jess and I aren't really friends."

"Well you've gotta do _something_! Go make some new friends, I don't know."

"Yeah, I'll just do that," I said sarcastically.

"I'm serious, I've half a mind to go down there and give Billy a piece of my mind. Just not right they they're letting their kids do this to you."

"Do what? If they don't want me around, fine. Whatever."

"It's not whatever, Bells. Have you actually gone to try and see them in person, yet?"

I sighed and said, "No, I haven't, but-"

"Why not try that? At the very least it'll give you something to do."

I shrugged and figured why the hell not? "Yeah, alright Dad."

I drove my dad's civilian car, a little white Honda. It was old and I was just about the only one who ever drove it, but it had four wheels and an engine so it was good enough. When I pulled up to Billy's house I saw the curtains in one of the upstairs windows pull aside and then quickly sway back into place. Good, I knew for certain Jake was home, since Billy hadn't been upstairs since the accident. I took a deep breath then slid out of the car and walked slowly up to the door. Despite the warm weather I wore a jacket, and my hands were stuffed deep in the pockets, shoulders hunched against what I could only explain as a sense of emotional turmoil to come. Call it instinct.

I knocked three times on the door and heard shuffling inside. I knocked once more and called out, "I _know_ someone is home, and if you don't open this damn door I'm coming in anyways!" I didn't know how angry I was under all my sadness until I spoke and it came out.

I heard something akin to growling and heavy footsteps. The door swung open and I opened my mouth to speak, hoping to get a word in before either Billy or Jake, whoever answered, but the sight inside caught me up. Inside, sprawled across all of the Black's furniture, sat Quil, Embry, Seth, Leah, Jared, Paul, and Sam. Jake had opened the door. He looked so different. He had somehow shot up in height and had put on serious muscle. It hadn't been that long at all since I last saw him, and the changes were so radically different it took my breath away. When I finally looked at his face my breath caught again. There was no easy going smile or lazy laughter, but instead I was met with a dark glare.

"What, Bella?"

"I- I-," I stuttered out.

Jake sighed irritably and began to take a step forward as if he was going to come outside but a deep voice stopped him. "Jake." Sam had only said his name but Jake stopped in his tracks and turned his head back over his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Just... be careful. Remember what we talked about."

Who the hell did this guy think he was? I looked awestruck as Jake nodded and walked the rest of the way outside. There was a tint of remorse in his eyes, a kind that made my gut twist with worry, but it flashed away just as quickly. Jake led me in silence back towards the shed where we stored our bikes. Finally, once we were around back and outside of view, Jake whirled around and glared at me again as if the mere sight of me made him mad.

"What do you want, Bella?"

It took me a stunned second of processing his tone to get to his words. "I want to know why my friends have suddenly stopped recognizing my existence. _And_ why you're all suddenly buddy-buddy with Sam and his cronies!"

If Jake showed any sadness at my first statement, it was all washed away by the time I'd finished my second. "Shut up, Bella! You don't know anything about Sam, we had him pegged all wrong. Trust me, he's a great guy."

"You know what, I _don't_ trust you! Because of him all of my friends aren't talking to me anymore!"

"We have bigger things to worry about than your feelings, Bella!" Jake growled and grimaced. He was so mad he was even beginning to shake.

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"_Tribe_ things," he growled again. "Are you a part of this tribe?"

"Your tribe wasn't an issue before all this! All I know is you all got sick then hopped trains over to Team Sam! And no one will tell me why!"

"Because you don't need to know Bella! Like I said, we've got other things to worry about now. Duties. And they just don't involve you, so maybe it's best if you left."

"Are you saying all this?" I asked, stunned and close to tears, "Or is Sam?"

"It doesn't matter, the words are the same. Get out of here Bella."

"My friends wouldn't do this to me," I whispered, voice choked against sobs.

"Probably not. But you don't have any of those here anymore. So get out of here."

"No, Jake! Not until I get a real explanation!"

"Now!" He yelled, body shaking as if he were freezing to death. I knew that couldn't be the case though, and for a second I wondered if Jake was still sick, because I could feel the heat radiating off of him.

"No!"

"Dammit, Bella!" He said and raised his hand. I couldn't do anything to stop the hit so instead I just braced myself. I saw a flicker of something in Jake's eyes but if he tried to pull back I didn't feel it. With blinding pain his hand crashed against my face and sent me tumbling backwards. White, red, and black lights danced inside my skull, and I dazedly tried to stand but slipped back down. My jaw already screamed in pain to the point of not being able to move it. Once my eyes refocused I looked up to see a horrified Jake looking at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. Without a word he turned tail into the woods and disappeared amongst the trees.

I groaned and stood, my limbs shaky. Slowly and praying that no one would come out of the house, I quickly walked back to the Honda and slid in. My head still spun and I figured I should probably wait to make absolutely certain I wasn't going to pass out before driving, but I started up anyways. I had barely walked in the door when Charlie's head popped around the corner.

"So how'd it g-" His words died in his throat as he took in my appearance. "What happened? Who did that?"

"It was nothing, Dad," I mumbled against the swelling of my jaw. I could taste the salty copper and rust of blood in my mouth and fought against my gag reflex.

"Bella, it's a damned hand print!" Charlie argued, voice raising.

"I tripped and bashed my face against a tree." Why was I defending Jake anyways? I didn't have a chance to look at it before now. We had a mirror hanging in the hall so I turned to see for myself but my addled brain couldn't handle that quick of a motion and I stumbled.

"C'mon. We're going to the hospital." Charlie walked up to me and grabbed me by the elbow with the intent of dragging me, apparently.

"Dad, no!" I argued, pulling my arm free. "I'm fine!"

"Bella, I can see it in your eyes. You're tired and malnourished and have a giant welt of a hand print on your cheek, probably a concussion and maybe even a fractured jaw by the look of that swelling. We're going!"

As his words went on the reality of the situation crashed down around me and I figured maybe I should go. I certainly didn't feel well, that was without a doubt, and it went beyond my aching jaw too. That twitch in my gut, the one I had felt since summer began, was agitated. Maybe I needed to have that checked out too. I sighed. "Fine. Fine, I'll go but only if your promise no to pursue this down at La Push. I really did trip. Just... funny shaped tree I guess."

Charlie looked at me with dry eyes and appeared to weigh his options. "Fine. Unless it happens again. But don't you think for one god damned second I believe you."

Charlie's pull as Chief of Police got us straight through the waiting room. A nurse led us to a waiting room, and another nurse came in, took one look at my face, then turned around only to return a moment later with a bag of ice. I smiled weakly and pressed it to my still swelling face. I didn't even want to look at it, I could just tell it was black and blue, purple and green and a total mess. If it looked like I had a baseball in my mouth, I wouldn't be surprised.

"Doctor will be with you in just a moment," the nurse said with a weak smile. Most of that very long moment was spent with Charlie glaring at me. It hurt to talk so we hadn't done much on the ride over and that hadn't changed now, but it was still uncomfortable. I would almost chose the pain of moving my jaw over the tense quiet.

The twisting of the door handle was the only warning we got before a young, _gorgeous_ man walked through the door. He was a little old for me, looking between twenty five and thirty, but still. He was blond and lean, not too tall and not too short. His jaw was chiseled and his eyes were a beautiful golden color I had never seen before. Unfortunately, that little thing in my gut jumped and made me feel as if I were going to vomit. What timing, right?

I watched as the doctor's nostrils flared momentarily, his brows drawing close, before his expression cleared. It was a split second thing and I gave it little credence. "Hello, Miss Swan is it?"

I smiled as best I could and said, "Um, Bella, please."

"Bella, then. I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I need to take a look at that jaw but if it's not too much trouble, could you tell me what happened?"

"Well, I-" I winced as I opened my mouth too far.

Charlie sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Not that she's admitted to it, but I think one of the local boys slugged her." My eyes narrowed and I shot Charlie a glare. He looked sheepish and said, "Our deal was that I wouldn't go to La Push and arrest the punk, but I won't lie to a doctor, Bells! And neither should you!"

I just glared and looked out the window, ignoring both men in the room.

Charlie went on. "She was real close to a group of kids at the reservation, but out of no where they just up and stopped talking to her. So she went there today and came back with a hand print on her face. By the swelling, it might've even broken her jaw."

Dr. Cullen frowned and took a step closer. "Oh dear. Well, Bella, regardless of what happened, would you mind removing the ice so I could take a look?"

I sighed and lowered the bag. A mirror across the room caught my eye and I saw that Charlie had been beyond right. In stark red and purple, mottled with blood under the skin, a perfect hand had been practically engraved onto my face. I winced and it had nothing to do with the pain. The doctor's eyes seemed to darken and he frowned.

"Bella, this is quite serious. You would be fully within your rights to press charges, as I'm sure your father knows."

I just shook my head and whispered out, "Nothing happened."

"Was it Jake?" Charlie asked, his jaw set in anger. "Or Sam?"

Dr. Cullen stiffened, and I shot a glance at him to find him rather preoccupied with my chart.

"Nothing happened, Dad. I went over, Jake answered the door and he and Seth, Leah, Quil, Embry, Jared, Paul, and Sam were all inside. Jake took me aside and said I wasn't welcome there so I left. Nothing happened. Tripped on the way back to the car, clumsy old me, just like always." That much talking had my head light and I closed my eyes against the pain and dizziness.

Dr. Cullen took out a pen and said, "Well, Bella, I want to check you for a concussion. Can you follow this pen with just your eyes please?"

I did, to the best of my ability but apparently it wasn't good enough. Dr. Cullen sighed and said, "Looks like a concussion to me, but most likely a minor one. Any tiredness or nausea?" He asked.

I lied and shook my head no.

"Well, I'm going to check your jaw for breaks too, alright? This may hurt a bit. And sorry in advance for the cold hands."

I braced myself for both but it did little good. True, his hands were as cold as ice but the bigger problem was the fact that whenever he touched along my jaw and cheek it felt like he was hammering in nails.

"Well it's clearly bruising but the swelling seems to have halted thanks to the ice, and your jaw isn't dislocated which is good. But I'm absolutely going to prescribe you some pain meds, alright?"

I just shrugged. I hated medicine and probably wouldn't take them anyways. I was about to open my mouth and ask if I could go now when a new voice sounded from the door way.

"Carlisle! Emmett and Rose want to know if- Oh," the speaker paused, noticing me. "Hello!" She was... breathtaking. She had short black hair that fell just past her ears and her eyes were the same golden hue. Her face was tear drop shaped and each feature, eyes, nose, lips, seemed to have been hand crafted by a master. She dressed in an elegant white blouse and dark jeans. My stomach lurched again, stronger than ever before.

"Ah, Alice! Bella, this is my daughter, Alice Cullen. Alice, this is Bella Swan and her father, Chief of Police Charlie Swan."

"Pleasure to meet you Bella, Chief Swan!" She answered with a bright smile, eyes alight with vivacious... something. Her eyes darkened as well when she locked her gaze on my face. "Oh dear..."

"Bella has had an accident of sorts but will be better in no time at all. Perhaps you'd like to keep her company while I take her father out into the hall to fill out some forms?" Dr. Cullen asked her with a smile.

"Of course, if she doesn't mind?" Alice smiled and directed her question at me.

Did I mind? Hell yeah I did! I was here in ratty clothes and this grotesque _thing_ on my face, and here was a gorgeous girl I was supposed to interact with and _not _make a fool of myself in front of. Yes, I did mind. Did I say no? "Uh, sure, if you want to." No. No, I did not.

"Great!" Alice smiled and walked over to sit at the foot of my bed as her father led mine out side, closing the door behind us. "So, what happened if you don't mind my asking? That looks pretty bad..."

I sighed and offered the best half smile I could muster. "Just an accident, don't worry about it. I'm a klutz, it happens all the time. Most of the hospital staff knows my face by now." I cut off my rambling with an embarrassed blush but Alice just laughed.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. But then again, my dad would be out of business if it weren't for people like you!" It was a goodnatured joke so I smiled and shrugged.

"Happy to help." I examined her for a moment then asked, "No offense but you look very young. Are you going to High School here? I haven't seen you around before. And I don't remember hearing your father's name around here before."

Alice smiled and replied, "No offense taken. I'm eighteen, and yes, I'll be attending Forks High this upcoming year. We just moved here at the start of the summer, so that'd explain why you hadn't heard of us before."

"I guess it would. I've lived here year round for the past four years, and came every summer to visit my dad before that."

Alice grinned and said, "Well, maybe you could help show me around then?"

I blushed at the thought of spending time outside of this odd scenario with a beautiful girl like her. "I-it's a small town. I'm sure you know everything I do by now."

"Forks, sure, but none of the other nearby towns. Not Port Angelas and not Seattle. I'm kind of a shopaholic and I need to know the best places to go."

I winced and said, "Not much of a shopper here. Sorry."

Alice mock gasped and brought a hand to her forehead. "What? And here I had such high hopes for our friendship, Bella! Oh well. Win some, lose some."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. Hah. As if she'd be friends with me outside of here anyways. Still, no reason not to help the girl out while I could. "There is this one dress shop in Port Angelas I can recommend. Quaint, but cute. It's called Dividends, if you wanna check it out. I mean, it's mostly formal wear and things like that, but it's about as good as you can find local."

Alice beamed and took out her phone, likely saving the name. "I will, thanks. I've got a sister who needs some new clothes too. We just moved down from Alaska, not much need for formal wear there so we need to restock."

I laughed and shook my head. "I doubt you'll find much need for it here, either."

She just shrugged. She opened her mouth, about to say more but the door reopened and our fathers reentered. "Alright, Bella! You're free to go, but please call in or drop by if you feel dizzy or nauseous, alright?"

As if Alice had been reminded that I was indeed injured and we were indeed in a hospital, she flashed a worried look at me. "Well Bella, it was nice talking to you! Do you have a cell phone?"

"Uh, yes?" I asked, making it sound like a question in my confusion.

She laughed and pulled a slip of paper and a pen out of a shoulder bag I hadn't noticed before now. She scribbled on it and said, "Trade me numbers, I'll shoot you a text when I'm ready for that shopping trip!"

I laughed and did as she asked, though I was a bit surprised that she was planning to include me in this. "If you say so, but I'm crap at malls."

"She really is," Charlie said with a grin, walking over to help me up and out of the bed.

"Gee, thanks Pops."

Charlie just shrugged as Alice and Carlisle chuckled.

"Well Bella, like I said, call us if you start feeling worse, and keep ice on your jaw to keep the swelling down."

"Aye-aye," I mumbled past the pain of blood rushing from my head after laying down for so long. Alice looked worried yet again but said nothing. I clutched her number tightly in my hand, marveling at it's mere presence.

"So, I can text you later on?" She asked, looking almost nervous.

"Uh, sure! Sure, if you want to. Knowing my dad he'll do his best to keep me bedridden for the rest of my life, so I'll probably need the entertainment."

Charlie looked a bit sheepish yet again but Alice just laughed. "Happy to help."

Charlie steered me out the door and I cast a glance over my shoulder, waving. "Thanks Dr. Cullen! And bye Alice, it was nice meeting you!"

"Likewise, bye Bella!" Alice called out after me, and I couldn't help but grin at the way she said my name. What a weird day...

**A/N: …:D Yay Cullens! And Bad Jake! Don't worry Jake fans, things will right themselves eventually. Maybe. I haven't really decided that one yet but all is not lost! Hopefully this chapter was better than the last? Let me know? **

**Also! A few shoutouts here:**

**SHADOWCUB: A Denali you say? Hmm, a lovely prospect ^^ Have anyone in mind?**

**SRICKARDS: I am indeed back! I fills my tummy with warm and fuzzys that this makes you happy :3 **

**DEJEE: I should surely hope so! So far I've got 46,306 words written, and a ton more yet to write. So yes, it will indeed be a long story!**

**For the rest of you who said this was a bit slow, hopefully this sped up a little bit? Let me know with your lovely reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Updates, yay! This story is taking a lot longer to pick up than I realized... I should probably do longer chapters :/ Oh well, maybe next time! **

The car ride was once more silent as we drove home. The farther we got from the hospital though, the more uncomfortable I got. I regretted suddenly not mentioning the odd feeling in my gut. It made my body itch and twitch as if something inside were trying to stretch out. I felt like I needed to hop out of the car and run the rest of the way home but I'd probably sound crazy explaining it, due to the fact that I sounded crazy even thinking it to myself. Sometimes it was almost as if it were another thing, something separate. Sometimes I felt emotions in my gut as opposed to my head, or urges. Usually I just tried my hardest to ignore them, but right now the thing in my gut _really_ wanted to be given the reins.

We arrived home and I went right upstairs. Charlie shot me a worried glance but I told him I was just going to lie down for a bit. He agreed uneasily and I had just shut my door when through the walls I heard the TV flicker on. Letting out a relieved sigh I sat down on the edge of my bed and quickly entered Alice's number into my phone. After, I stared at the contact and wrestled with myself over whether to text her or not. Finally I sighed and tossed my phone aside. She was just being nice after all, she probably didn't really want to talk to me, much less hang out. Hell, it probably wasn't even her real number. But, just as my phone hit the mattress, it buzzed. Curious I picked it up and, lo and behold, she had actually texted me. I blinked a few times before the words of the message processed.

_Hey!_ The message wrote. _Hope this is the right number? Carlisle is really worried about you, you know. Will you promise to come back in if you feel any worse?_

I smiled at that and quickly typed out, _Yeah, this is the right number! And I will, I promise. I was just about to lay down for a nap though, so I doubt it'll be any time soon._

Her reply was almost instantaneous. _A nap? Bella, you're not supposed to sleep with a concussion :/ It's apparently a sign of badness in your brain!_

_ Lol, badness? Well, I promise this is non-concussion related. I was up late last night doing house work, that's all._

_Still! If something goes wrong you should be awake to notice, y'know? I WILL mother hen you!_

I took a moment to consider how odd, good odd but odd nonetheless, it was that she was so forward. It was funny, but not something you often saw in new relationships. I replied, _But I'm tiredddd ):_

_Tough! Wanna play a game? Maybe it'll help keep you awake!_

I laughed and said, _Hmm, depends on the game._

_ 20Q?_

I blinked. The quintessential couples game?_ Sounds fine to me. But it was your idea, you gotta go first!_

_ I accept those terms. Hmm... we'll start out easy! Favorite color? Mine's yellow._

_ Blue, I guess. Dark blue though. Uhm, favorite food?_

She took a moment to respond. _Idk, my brothers are big hunters, so we eat a lot of what they bring back and it's pretty good. My mother, Esme, is a good cook. How about you? Big family?_

_ Nah, _I replied. _Just Charlie and I. My mom left my dad when I was young, I lived with her for a while but when my freshman year started she left for Europe and hasn't contacted us since. No siblings either._

_ Well, it seems like you and Charlie get along well at least, so that's good (: I've got four siblings, technically, though we're all adopted. Three brothers, Jasper, Edward, and Emmett, then one sister, Rosalie. Rose and Jazz are actually really related, but the rest of us aren't. _

_ Wow._ I said, truly stunned.

_Yeah, Esme and Carlisle have big hearts. They're amazing parents. Carlisle is compassionate and gentle and Esme is everything someone could want in a mother. She listens and loves easily. And __she's a great cook! Your turn for a Q, btw._

_ Sounds amazing (: Where all have you lived before this?_

And so it went on. Alice and I texted until Charlie called me down for dinner a few hours later. Alice said she too was about to go out to dinner with her siblings but she'd text me again later to continue our game. We had easily exceeded twenty questions but we were having a good time so neither of us mentioned that tiny fact. When I walked downstairs with a smile on my face despite the swelling, Charlie gave me an odd glance.

"What are you so happy about?" He asked, gruff, pulling a slice of pizza from the delivery box.

"Nothing. Just talking with Alice, it's good to have real human contact again."

"I take offense to that!" Charlie said with a grin. "What am I, a potato?"

I patted him on the shoulder as I walked past to grab a few slices myself. "A couch potato, maybe."

Charlie just chuckled and tucked into his meal.

I woke up the next morning with the strangest headache I'd ever felt. Well, the strangest _body_ ache I'd ever felt too. My head felt like it had been stuffed with super heated cotton, it felt like someone had tried to mummify my body with lead. I was stiff and desperately needed a drink. I lay there for a few moments, gasping, eyes moving wildly as I tried to regain control of my body to the point where I could at least cry out for Charlie. My eyes flashed to the clock that hung on my wall and saw it read ten fourteen. Shit. Charlie had already left for the station and my heart rate was already accelerating. I began to hyperventilate as a wave of pains and nausea rolled through me from head to toe. That little thing in my gut was going wild.

My phone buzzed on the table beside me, reminding me that if I could only reach it, I could call for help. I gritted my teeth and slowly, inch my inch wormed my arm across the bed, up onto my night stand, and with shaky fingers grasped my phone. I turned on the screen to see, from Alice, _Hey, good morning Bella! How are you feeling today?_ I laughed at the irony. Seriously though, this girl had great timing.

_Need help. Very sick. Charlie gone,_ was all I could manage before my arm collapsed back down. I heaved, terrified that that little burst of energy had affected me so much.

Luckily, Alice's reply was almost instantaneous. _On my way._ I would have given her an address, but instead I passed out.

While unconscious I had the strangest dream. I wasn't sure if you could dream while unconscious, but I also wasn't really in a position to question it. I was in a wooded clearing, likely at sunset as everything was bathed in a red hue. Large white moths fluttered in the breeze, small animals frolicked abundantly through the underbrush and the woods were alive with the chatter of life. I was alone to examine everything but that didn't bother me. I was alone in this strange new place but it felt right. Suddenly I turned around at the crack of a twig and found a tall, lean woman standing behind me. She looked almost identical to me except her hair was constantly changing colors, from red to black to white to gray. Her eyes, too, flickered from brown to green to amber to blue and even flashed red every now and then. She smiled and revealed large canine teeth.

"Who are you?" I asked, calm though I would have every right to be alarmed.

"Ah, but who are _you_?" She asked in rebuttal.

I shrugged and said, "Just Bella."

She shook her head and smiled again. "Wrong. I am Bella."

My brows drew down. "You are named Bella too?" For feeling fairly lucid, my brain was having trouble focusing on this strange new girl.

"No, I _am_ Bella," she replied urgently as if she really needed me to understand that. "You are Bella, and I am Bella."

"So you are me?" I asked with a chuckle, but to my surprise the girl beamed.

"Yes!"

"Just because you have my face, that doesn't make you me."

"I am though," she argued and took a few graceful paces forward. I saw now that she was also a good five inches taller than me and had a lean, fierce look about her. "But I am in here," she said and laid a hand on my gut, right where that odd thing had been. I gasped as a fire exploded from within me, filling my body with urges and instincts and thoughts, memories and visions of blood and teeth. A long, wavering noise filled my ears and I woke with a gasp.

A rapidly beeping heart monitor brought me back to reality. It's metronome-like rhythm, fast as it was, settled my racing thoughts as reality settled back around me. To my utter disdain, I felt that odd dream begin to fade until I couldn't recall it anymore. I grit my teeth. A polite cough brought me farther into waking and I realized that I was not in my house or even in the hospital, though Dr. Cullen and Alice stood at my side, faces taut with worry.

"Bella?" Alice's lips moved and it was a moment before my frazzled mind recognized the words she was speaking. "Bella, how do you feel?"

How did I feel? That was a good question. I remember in a vivid flash the illness I had awoken with, but I don't remember anything after texting Alice. Did I still feel like that? I took a moment to inventory my body quickly. My head felt cool and clear, my limbs ached but not to that paralyzing degree. "Better," I rasped out. "What happened? Where am I?"

Alice and Dr. Cullen flashed a quick look at one another. "Well, you texted me yesterday and said you were sick so Carlisle called the station and asked your father where you lived, so I came and got you. You were too sick to drive all the way to Port Angelas for the hospital and we had a lot of equipment here, so we brought you to our house and you've been here ever since."

The oddity of being cared for in a doctor's own house, in the company of people I barely knew, was not lost on me, but I had bigger things to worry about just then. "Charlie..." I rasped out.

"Is worried, but fine. He's been checking in on you whenever he can," Dr. Cullen answered.

"What did I have, though?" I asked, feeling as if they were avoiding my question.

Dr. Cullen sighed and said, "We aren't sure. Your blood work showed no abnormalities, and even though your fever peaked at nearly one hundred and eight degrees, deadly to anyone else, here you are very much alive and, if I do say so myself, functioning quite well. Beyond that, look here." He produced a mirror from a nearby table and held it before my face.

I gasped and brought a hand up to my face. The bruise from Jacob's hand was nearly entirely gone, and my jaw didn't ache at all. "How...?" I whispered.

"You have no idea how this could have happened?" Dr. Cullen asked, his eyes very serious. I held them for a long moment. I could sense that he was searching for something within myself as well, though I had no idea what that might be. In the end, I answered honestly.

"No idea."

Dr. Cullen sighed. "Our best guess is that the fever put your body in overdrive and in it's need to repair itself and stop the fever you healed much quicker. It's the best we've got."

I laughed a little, a quick thought flashing through my mind.

"What?" Alice asked, curious.

"Nothing," I said immediately, then reconsidered. "Well, I mean, it's nothing but ironic. I used to hang with a group down at La Push, then they all got sick and stopped talking to me. I guess I finally got whatever they got. Maybe they'll let me into their gang now," I said, rolling my eyes.

Alice and Carlisle looked worriedly at one another yet again.

"I'm just kidding," I said. "I don't wanna hang with them anymore anyways. They're jerks," I said with a weak smile and tried to sit up. I was on a very comfortable bed in a yellow room. Large windows let in the gray light of a sunless day, but it was better than nothing. Now that he saw I was functioning and not about to keel over, Dr. Cullen reached in and removed the sensors that hooked me up to the various machines.

When he was done, Alice asked, "Are you hungry, Bella?" My stomach growled in response and I looked at her sheepishly. She just laughed and gracefully skipped from the room, calling over her shoulder, "I'll let Esme know."

I looked back to Dr. Cullen and said, "Thanks for taking me in, Dr. Cullen. You didn't have to do that." For being alone with a strange man I had only met once before, in his home, I felt oddly comfortable. You'd think after recent events my ability to trust would be a bit more conservative.

Dr. Cullen smiled and waved it off. "Please, call me Carlisle. And it was no trouble, Alice practically insisted that you be where she could keep an eye on you. She's already rather attached to you, you know."

I couldn't stop the blush so I did my best to ignore it. "She's been very nice, though I haven't the slightest idea why. We barely know one another."

Before Carlisle could respond Alice floated back through the door bearing a tray of food. Her hair fluttered as she walked into the air mass of the room. I noticed she had forgone heels in her own home and was several inches shorter than she had been in the hospital. She wore a red and black flannel over a white cami and light blue jeans with a rope belt. She looked adorable, and despite my gnawing hunger I was only half focused on the food.

"Here ya go, Bella. Esme wasn't sure what you liked so we've got a little bit of everything."

She wasn't wrong. The tray was heaped with breakfast foods. Eggs and toast with jelly and butter, pancakes and waffles, fruit and milk and juice, even coffee, but what I was really focused on was the ham and sausage and bacon. "It looks amazing!" I said, wanting to dig in but not wanting to be rude.

Carlisle seemed to get the hint and said, "Well, I've got to get into work. Bella, call if you have any troubles, alright? I'll leave it up to Alice to decide when you get to go home," he said with a joking smile. Alice chuckled.

"I don't know Carlisle, I might just decide that we need to keep her! It'd be nice to have someone sane around the house for once."

Carlisle and I chuckled as the doctor walked out of the room. "Don't expect me to hold to the title of sane very well." I picked up the first piece of bacon and daintily nibbled at it. The rest followed much more quickly, along with all the others.

Alice just laughed and said, "By comparison? I think you'll be fine."

"Also, don't judge me here, but I'm about to inhale this food. If you want any grab it now because I've never been so hungry in my life. That fever must have taken up a lot of energy, huh?"

Alice's eyes flashed, but were back to normal so quickly I questioned whether I'd seen anything or not. "I already ate, but thank you Bella."

I just shrugged and tucked in. Alice looked halfway between amused and fascinated by this, so I paused and blushed. "Uh, you don't have to stay here if you have better things to do."

Alice shrugged and said, "Nah, my siblings are out right now so I'm dead bored. Oh, unless you want me to go, that is?"

She looked guilty and my eyes widened. "No, no, just that I can't imagine this is much better. Can't talk much but I don't know, wanna tell me a story or something so we can both listen to something other than the sound of me chewing?" I asked with a small laugh.

Alice giggled and nodded. "Alright, what do you want to hear about?"

I shrugged. "Go for a fairy tale, I don't know."

So while I sat there and shoveled food into my mouth, Alice told me the story of Snow White, Alice in Wonderland (at my insistence,) and Beauty and the Beast. By the end we were laughing, coming up with our own endings for things and bashing the characters for whatever flaw we could think of. I had cleared the entire plate of food and hardly even noticed. We only paused due to the appearance of who I assumed was Esme at the door.

She had a dust rag hooked over a belt and the sleeves of her shirt rolled up to her elbows. Her light brown hair was pulled up in a loose bun and she smiled at us both. "Hello Bella, I see you're feeling much better. I'm Esme," she said with a smile and walked up with an extended hand. I shook it and found it just as cold as Carlisle's has been.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Cullen."

"Ah, ah! Call me Esme, please."

I smiled and nodded.

"Well, it's good to see you up and laughing, and same goes for Alice here. You're of course welcome to stay for as long as you want, Bella."

I blushed lightly as I was once again reminded that this was not my home, nor was it a hospital. It was a veritable stranger's house! Despite the fact that I felt so comfortable here, I knew I'd have to leave eventually. "Oh, I couldn't impose. I'll leave at the earliest convenience, but thank you for your hospitality."

Esme smiled and said, "Oh, so well spoken! You don't see that much these days. Dear, you're welcome for as long as you want! Any friend of Alice is a friend of ours. I'm sure my other children would love to meet you as well."

Alice gasped and smiled, jumping a bit on the bed. "You'll stay to meet the others, won't you? Please? I'm sure Emmett will probably drag you right to the xbox though, he's always looking for new opponents."

I laughed and said, "Well, I guess so! I'd like to meet them. And your brother best watch out, I've spent the last four years kicking the butts of the boys down at La Push. He won't even know what hit him."

Alice and Esme both burst out laughing. "Oh, I can't wait to see the look on Emmett's face," Esme said, reaching in to grab the tray off my lap. "All done dear? Want any seconds?"

I blushed and said, "I'm full, but thank you. Everything was really, really good."

Esme beamed as if I had just handed her firstborn their college degree. "Oh, thank you dear. Lunch will be next if you're still around."

I laughed and said, "Well, if that's not incentive, I don't know what is."

Esme smiled yet again then walked from the room.

"Well if you're done eating and you're sticking around until my sibs get back, what do you want to do?"

I shrugged and said. "Dunno. It's your house! You tell me."

She paused for a moment, clearly thinking, then asked, "Want to see the studio?"

Not knowing what exactly that entailed I just smiled and nodded. "Sure, let's do it." I swung my legs over the bed and stood, noting how Alice watched me carefully for any signs of weakness or sickness. She seemed assured in her findings because she looped her arm through mine and led us out of the room. We went down a sweeping staircase into yet another beautiful room. It had high ceilings and one wall was floor to ceiling glass. Matching black leather furniture complimented a gray and blue color scheme and abstract paintings hung on the walls. Expensive looking pieces of pottery loitered on shelves and tall book cases. A large flat screen TV sat up on a stand, and beneath it were a few gaming systems and rows upon rows of games. I smiled.

"Over there is the kitchen, and around that corner is the dining room. But over here is the studio," Alice said, pointing to the different locations but steering me away from them.

She turned us into a different wing of the house and smiled as the room stepped into view. I gasped. It was _awesome_. Each section of the room had been dedicated to a different art form or entertainment method. One corner had an array of arcade style games, from a basketball shooting game to pinball to a large DDR machine. Beside that the walls were covered with musical instruments, guitars and basses and violins. Amps huddled in corners and beside chairs and stools. Another wall was lined with book shelves and surrounded by plush arm chairs. A small desk was nestled amongst the shelves and littered with papers. Finally, in the last corner, shelves and shelves of art products were scattered amongst easels and canvasses. I was drawn there.

"Wow," I breathed out, examining the different works in progress. One was a meadow filled with orange and purple flowers, glowing in a golden sunset light. A short girl with dark hair stood beside a large white patch that had yet to be painted. In another portrait I stared into the bright orange eyes of a black wolf, half masked by a dark and foggy forest. Another canvas portrayed a hand apparently made of diamonds or some other type of gem. "These are _amazing_," I breathed out again.

"I'm glad you like them," Alice said, moving amongst the easels as if she were intrinsically familiar with them. "I painted them myself."

It hadn't dawned on me that these were works of art from someone in her family yet, I had been to focused on their mere existence, and this was a swift kick to the gut. "No way," I gasped.

"It's true! I love my art." Alice was positively beaming.

"Alice, you should be famous or something, just _look_ at these! I'm completely blown away, these are amazing!"

Alice chuckled and said, "Thank you, but in truth I don't want the attention. I do sell them for charity every now and then, that's the most fame I get from it. Though it's anonymous so that's not much either, to be honest."

I just shook my head. I was about to compliment them again but the sound of the front door opening brought both of our heads up. A loud booming, "Honey, I'm home!" echoed through the house. Alice smiled and said, "That'd be my brother Emmett. Come on, come meet them."

I nodded, suddenly nervous, but let the smaller girl lead be back to the front room anyways.

**A/N: Chapter three complete! Woo! So not too painful right? We're slowly meeting the main characters! So... that's fun.**

**Also, for those of you who may be a bit confused (A.K.A angry that Bella is just like 'Oh, I woke up in some strange person's house after a crucial illness? Okay, cool!') I would like to say this: If I was not a lazy fuck I'd go back and make it more clear that she trusts them because of instinct wolfyness, and the Cullen's took her in because they can sense she's changing, and they didn't want her to just go out and rampage through the countryside. Unfortunately, I AM indeed a lazy fuck. So yeah, it's subtle, but it's there. Kind of. **

**SHOUTOUTS! :D Got some good ones this time...**

**First, for all of you that said 'Sooo... we're just cool with Jake? How can that possibly be a thing?' I respond with: PFFT! I love Bella, and he hit her. He's a douchecanoe. Right now he's at the top of my blacklist. I MEANT that he's important to the story, so he's not gone-gone. But if you think I won't have him go through hell to get back in an almost good relationship with her, well... we should remedy that. Next chapter you'll get some Jake abuse, so that's fun :3**

**MYTHICALRIFT: One vote for Irina, duly noted!**

**TANIS19: I could definitely dig some up for you! I've got a few written that people seem to like *cue hair flip* but I have a few favorites laying around. PM me and I'll send you some links?**

**Dear, sweet, lovely BOLO: How I wish you'd given me a log in name. I really love flames, even mild sassy ones like yours. Where oh where to begin? For one, no, I am no 'taking the piss.' I said last chapter I wasn't sure what I was going to do with Jake, not that they were going to be 'chummy again real soon.' As for Alice and Bella becoming 'best friends' they exchanged numbers... so Bella could show her around. Or at least that was her pretext. You must be a detective or something to notice they had a bond though! I mean it's not TOO impressive, they do kind of have a... mate thing goin' on. It is after all a Bellice story, I had assumed you realized this already? News flash, THEY END UP TOGETHER! Hope I didn't spoil that for you? Terribly sorry if I did. And even if she DID have a vision of Bella, HER MATE, getting socked in the jaw why on earth WOULDN'T she go see her? For the record, that's not what happened, ye olde impatient one, but good guess. As for Bella not just exploding into a fluff ball in chapter one it's called BUILDING SUSPENSE! If I got all the plot out in one chapter no one would come back for the second! Finally, I'll be 'bothered to add in some Bellice,' whenever I damn well please, thank you very much. You think it's weird that they're friends so fast and yet you want Bellice? C'mon dude and/or madam. Pick one. As a closing note, if you don't like my fic, don't read it. Sorry I didn't PM you to ask your approval before posting. Oh wait, I couldn't have, because you didn't have the guts to sign in. Shame. I would love to hear your opinions on the next chapter, if you're still around. Thanks oh so much for your time.**

**Phew! That was fun. I love flames, I really do. They're fun. For the record, if you have an issue with something I write and you want be to take it seriously, PM me. I don't bite, and I am here to please you lovely people. Come to me face to face (screen to screen?) and we can talk it out like civilized people! Not like 12.9 year old Tumblr anons :D**

**Sorry for the text block A/N! Longest one I've ever written, I think! Your reviews are much appreciated! Even you, Bolo 3**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm baaack! Yay! We get some action going in this chapter! **

I nodded, suddenly nervous, but let the smaller girl lead me back to the front room anyways. A group of people awaited us. Three boys and girl, all just as stunning as Alice. The first thing I noticed was their shared features, the pale skin and the golden eyes. Curious that all adopted children would have such a strange color of eyes. I decided not to dwell on it though, because the largest one, a boy with dark curly hair, began speaking. By the voice, this one was Emmett yet again.

"Well hey there! You Alice's girlfriend or something?" He smiled a broad smile but I just blushed.

"Emmett, shut up. This is my friend, Bella Swan. She's the one that Carlisle was treating! Her father is the Chief of Police in town, so you better be on your best behavior!" She mock threatened and three of her four siblings smiled. Alice went on, pointing first to Emmett. "This knuckle head, as I told you already, is Emmett. Don't let his size fool you, he's a big teddy bear and a toddler at heart." Next she pointed to a tall, lanky blond boy. His wavy blond hair fell just past his ears, and he wore a tight expression on his face. "This one is Jasper. He's the gentleman of the family, probably the only one with any real manners."

"Pleasure to meet you," he said with a small smile, reinforcing Alice's words.

"Next up is Edward," she said, gesturing to a shorter but equally lean boy. His hair was a dull red, somewhat bronze hued. He had an intense expression on as well, as if he were studying me. I didn't mind beyond the fact that he seemed worried. "He's broody, moody, and an all around downer but you get used to him."

That seemed to snap her brother out of the trance, because he looked up with a small smile. "Hey! I take offense to that! Bella, don't listen to anything this little devil tells you, it's all lies. Nice to meet you, though."

I laughed and nodded to him, not quite able to find my voice in front of them.

"Last but not least, is Rosalie!" The last of their group was a complete bombshell, I couldn't deny that. Tall, skinny, leggy, and wavy blond hair that fell to the middle of her back. She dressed just as fashionably as Alice had in the hospital that first day, but she wore a much more severe expression. After being introduced, instead of offering some words of welcome as the others had, she just breezed past me without a word or a glance and headed upstairs. I felt my face fall despite trying to keep it neutral.

"Did I do something?" I turned to Alice and asked with a frown.

Alice looked mad. She was glaring at the top of the stairs, the last place Rosalie had been visible. "No, you didn't. Rose is just a massive _bitch_, is all!" She called out the last bit a few notches louder to insure that her sister would hear, apparently.

Esme swooped in like a hawk, emerging from the dining room with a motherly scowl. "Mary Alice Brandon Cullen! I don't want to hear that language in my household!"

Alice shrunk down, if that was even possible, and mumbled out, "Sorry Esme. But Rose didn't even say hi to Bella, she just stormed upstairs! It was rude!"

"And I'll talk to her about that later," Esme said with a stern face, which seemed to appease Alice a small amount. She twirled around so that she faced her siblings again.

"Fine, I guess. Anyways, Emmett!" Alice said with a grin. "Bella has challenged you to an xbox-off! She's gonna kick your butt, too!"

Emmett's face split into a broad grin, as did Edward and Jasper's. "You're on, short stuff! You're goin' down!" He spun around to flip on the xbox and power up the TV, tossing me a controller as well. Luckily for once in my life I snatched it out of the air with ease, almost lazily. Made me look very suave, if I do say so myself.

I smirked and said, "We'll see."

An hour later, Emmett was on his feet shouting and screaming at the TV as Alice, her brothers and I were clutching our sides in bouts of laughter. I had beaten Emmett three for three in his favorite games and he wasn't handling it very well. Edward put the icing on the cake by saying, "Pay up, Emmett! You lost the bet!"

Emmett glared at the bronze haired boy but shoved a hand in his pocket none the less and pulled out a wad of cash. I wasn't sure when they had bet, how much, or over what but Edward's eyes were alight with joy. Emmett scowled and threw down his controller before finally stalking upstairs. I turned to Alice and, with a smile on my face, asked, "Should I go apologize or something? I don't want him to hate me for this."

Alice laughed and said, "Emmett doesn't have a hateful bone in his body. Immature, maybe, but not hateful. He'll be over it in half an hour, trust me."

"Well, good," I said. "I probably should have told him how much I played down at La Push."

"Here ya go, Bella!" Edward said, holding out a few crumpled twenties. "Your share!"

I looked at the money with knitted brows. "Of what?"

"The bet, of course," Jasper answered in a slight southern drawl. "You helped Eddie here win, so it's only polite that you get a cut."

"Well cool, I guess!" I said with a grin, and taking the cash from his hand. "We should hustle Emmett more often!" Alice, Edward, and Jasper cracked into laughter and I heard an angered, "Hey!" call out from upstairs.

Figuring this was a good note I sighed and pulled out my phone, checking the time. "Well, this has been fun, but I should probably get going home."

Alice frowned but sighed as well. "You're probably right, you seem to be feeling better. I can drive you!"

I smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

"Aren't you staying for lunch, Bella?" Esme walked in from the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel, a slight frown on her face. Guilt stabbed through me and I winced. It didn't help that I knew any food Esme prepared was bound to be about three million times better than what I could scrounge up at my house. Still, I pressed on.

"Sorry Esme, but I really do need to get home. If I know Charlie he's bound to take off from work early today and there's a bunch of things I need to get done before he exiles me to my bed to 'rest.'"

"Sounds like a good thing to me, you _should_ rest," Alice said stubbornly, chin jutting out.

I smiled and shrugged. "No can do. Besides I've been resting for too long all ready, I'm all antsy." It was true, now that I was back to pseudo-full strength that strange urge to vent out some energy had returned.

"Will you at least come back tomorrow?" Jasper asked with a smile. "I want to see you beat Emmett again."

Alice squealed and began jumping up and down, apparently overcome with excitement. "Oh, will you please? I want to paint something for you!"

I smiled at her, voice choked, and just nodded.

"Yay! Alright, I don't want to keep you if you have things to do. Let's bounce, kiddo!"

"Kiddo?" I questioned as we stepped outside. "You're the same age as me, _and_ shorter!"

Alice just waved me off and led me to a flashy yellow Porsche. My jaw dropped. "This is your car?"

"Yup! This is my baby! You like?"

"I'm kind of a gear head... so yes," I admitted slowly, walking around the sleek 911 Turbo. Images of my precious motorcycle locked away in Jake's shed flashed through my head. I missed the smell of grease in his garage, afternoons toiling in the heat with him and Leah and the boys. "Uhm, do you think you could... I mean, would you mind," I stuttered, trying to find the words, and just ended up tapping the hood.

"Pop the hood?" She questioned with a laugh. I just nodded in excitement. She laughed and opened the door to flip the lever. The hood popped up with a satisfying thunk and I eagerly propped it up. I whistled at what I saw underneath.

"Who replaced your engine?" I could tell from looking at it it was an engine you would find in Corvette cars, and had been upgraded to a twelve cylinder, which was racing grade.

"Rose did," Alice answered, walking around to stand beside me. "She's our family mechanic, she does all the work on all of our cars. She's got a Z3 BMW, it's her baby. Jasper drives a Ducati motorcycle-" She stopped when my jaw opened even lower. "Ducati?" She seemed to be testing for a key word.

"Can I see that too?"

Alice seemed to weigh that, then smiled gleefully. "You can see it tomorrow! If you come back, that is."

I groaned and breathed out heavily through my nose. "Evil little pixie!" I said. Laughter broke out from within the house and I paused for a moment, wondering what was happening. By the booming nature, it sounded like Emmett's. I refocused. "That's just cruel, taunting me like that!"

Alice just shrugged and said, "I never claimed to be nice! Now get your ass in the car, it looks like it's about to rain."

Surely enough, the moment my door shut a raindrop fell onto the hood. I sighed and leaned over to look through the window at the pervading sky. Dark clouds hung on the horizon, apparently heavy with rain. Alice revved up the engine and I couldn't help but smile as we pulled away. Their driveway was long and twisting, and I took my time to enjoy the scenery. The impulse to be out amongst the trees even as the rain fell was so overwhelming it took my breath away.

Alice must have noticed my silence because she asked, "Something wrong, Bella?"

I shrugged and said, "Dunno. Sudden urge to go play in the rain, I guess."

Alice clucked her tongue and held a look of disapproval on her face. "No playing in the rain until we're certain you're all better!"

I laughed and said sarcastically, "Yes, mommy!"

Alice gave me a dry look and rolled her eyes. It was only then that I noticed how fast we were going, pushing ninety on slick and curvy roads. "Woah, woah! Damn Alice, slow down! You trying to kill us? My Dad's a cop, you know. I'd never live it down if one of his boys caught us out here driving like this!"

Alice seemed alarmed by my own alarm and slowed maybe ten miles and hour but it was still horribly reckless. "It's alright Bella. I drive like this all the time! I've never gotten into a wreck, never even got a ticket. Relax."

"It's hard to relax when you're in a small car, whipping around wet corners at eighty miles per hour!"

Alice sighed and slowed down to sixty. By the look on her face, it was practically torture. Luckily for her, due to her previous speeds it was only about a minute before we pulled up into my driveway. "Alright Grandma, now scoot!" She said with a laugh.

"What, trying to get rid of me? Fine! Maybe I won't show up tomorrow then!" I joked, laughing at the worry on her face. "I mean hey, I can google Ducati pics all day if I need to. Maybe I'll just go down to La Push and finish fixing up my own bike."

I wasn't expecting the blatant fear on Alice's face. "Bella, please don't go to La Push!"

I blinked in confusion but quickly moved to reassure her. "Hey, hey, I was kidding, alright? I won't go, I was just joking." I wasn't sure if she heard me because she continued on.

"I know you're trying to protect your old friends, but one of them hit you, I know it. Please don't go back there, I don't know what they could do next."

"Alice, ssh!" I said, laying a hand on her shoulder and giving her a little shake. She seemed to come to well enough so I smiled and said, "I won't. I'll go over to your house, like I promised. Okay? I'll text you the second I wake up."

That seemed to appease her to some extent. "Alright, you better." Her threat was as weak as her voice, which still seemed tight with worry.

"Alright," I agreed with a final smile. "See ya then." I opened my door and slid out of the car. I walked up to the front door and grabbed the key from under a nearby flower pot. I waved a final wave to Alice before sliding inside. I heard her car purr as she drove away.

I slumped against the door after I closed it behind me. Fatigue and a tidal wave of thoughts washed over me in a rush. I knew something big was up, that much was for certain. That particular thought had been niggling at the back of my mind all morning, but now that I was away from Alice's distracting nature it seemed that much more apparent. Now that I had a moment to step back and focus on myself I knew something was different. I felt different. And a dream I had had last during my unconsciousness, one I couldn't quite recall, was very actively battering against the walls of my mind. I finally decided that if being busy had helped before, it might help now.

I spent the day cleaning the house, though it was a scrupulous task as I had already swept through it before my first encounter with the Cullens. I did laundry, both mine and Charlie's, and cleaned out the fridge and freezer. I ventured into the garage and tidied up there as well, something I hadn't touched before due to the fact that it had nothing to do with me. I had no car after all and rarely ever ventured in. Now, though, it was spick and span. It was late afternoon by the time I sat down, finished and body buzzing with a mixture of exhaustion and that same damned antsy energy. For a moment I considered giving Carlisle a call but before I could decide a flashing light caught my attention. It was the red light on our kitchen phone, and it signaled that we had at least one message, possibly more. With this new distraction before me, I smiled and stood, making my way over. I was surprised at what played for me when the button was pushed.

"_Hey, Bella?" _The machine played in a static, familiar voice. "_It's Leah. Look, I know everything is really messed up and it wasn't until now that I figured out what Jake did to you and it was way out of line. I'm so sorry for everything and I really want to talk to you. Can you call me back ASAP? Thanks."_ The machine beeped and before I could recover, it started up again.

"_Bells? It's... it's Jake. I mean, you know that, but- Whatever. The point is, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I spent the whole of yesterday just sitting at home waiting for Charlie's cruiser to pull up. Will you please call me back? I want to make it up to you._"

I glared at the phone, thoughts running a mile a minute. We had a message from Quil and Embry too, with Seth in the background. Angela had left me a message too, though why she didn't just call my cell I wasn't sure. Her I called back, but not the others. We exchanged thoughts on the summer school work and joked around. I ever made tentative plans with her for later in the week, to head up to a new book store in Port Angelas. Feeling accomplished, I hung up the phone and sat down just as the sound of Charlie's cruiser rolling up the drive hit my ears. I looked disdainfully at the fridge, realizing that I hadn't prepared dinner yet. I stood and began rummaging, which is how Charlie found me.

"Bella! You're home! Sit down, what on earth are you doing? Tell me how you feel." Charlie seemed even more flustered than he usually was when trying to fulfill the role of a father. I smiled and peered at him from over top of the fridge's open door.

"I'm fine, Dad. Really. Dr. Cullen cleared me with a clean bill of health. The fever actually helped me, check it out!" I stood fully up and showed him my healed jaw.

He seemed confused and paused for a moment, looking at my once-injured face. Eventually he just brushed it aside. "Wow, that's... that's something Bells, but that still doesn't mean you should over do it. Let me handle dinner tonight, okay?"

"I was just going to make grilled cheese," I said with a smile. "Nothing taxing about that. So you go sit down, and it'll be done in a few minutes."

He grumbled but did as I asked. The surprising bit was that he didn't do it in the way that I would have expected. I had expected him to go claim his usual throne in the living room, kick up his feet and turn on the game. Instead he sat at the kitchen table and watched me avidly as I worked. I felt his eyes on my back as I moved about but tried my best to ignore him.

"Did you get taller, Bells?" He asked unexpectedly.

My brows furrowed over the stove but my back remained towards Charlie so he didn't see my confusion. "Uh, not that I know, but I haven't exactly measured myself lately."

"You look... leaner, taller, I'm not sure."

I shrugged. "Maybe the fever burned some weight off so it just looks that way." That didn't make much sense to me but Charlie didn't question it.

Finally, thankfully, the food was done. We ate in silence, and an awkward silence at that. By the end of the meal I was regretting eating anything at all, not for the tense air in the room but for the fact that my body was feeling oddly unsettled. My stomach, but also my mind and joints felt off. Deciding it was best to head upstairs early, I bid goodbye to Charlie. With every step I took up the stairs more and more fatigue poured into my body. I stumbled into my room, and collapsed on my bed. My ears were roaring, blood moved through my body so quickly it almost felt as if it were heating. I thought of calling Alice, like I had promised, but instead I thought maybe I could just sleep it off. Big mistake.

Pain crashed through my body like a bull in a china shop. I felt each hit as it rammed into every individual limb. I woke up with a gasp, flinging myself from my bed with enough upward forced to send me smacking into the wall on the opposite side of the room. Dazed, I felt as if my body was coiled as tight as a spring, ready to lash out. My eyes weren't focusing properly, and the majority of my senses were overcome with the thudding of my heartbeat. Suddenly the walls felt encasing, enclosing, as if I were in a cage. I clenched my teeth together, ignoring the pain, and darted down the stairs and out the back door. The woods behind our house looked different that night, as if they had some kind of primal aliveness, as if they were sentient. The air that washed out from them was cool and crisp, fresh with the smell of rain and creatures. A whine broke through my lips and I darted into them.

The house was barely out of sight when my knees buckled from the pain and I collapsed onto the ground. I felt the tension in my bones with vibrant awareness. My body was so tightly coiled I could hardly breathe. Right when I thought I would pass out, miraculously, the pain faded for one single second. I took a ragged gasp, trying to refill my screaming lungs, trying to calm my racing heart, but it was only a feint. Just as my senses were beginning to return a wave of new fire overtook me and I caved inward with a scream. Could Charlie hear me? He would come out and find me surely, and take me to Dr. Cullen. Of course he would. I lay there like a dying fish, trying to gasp for breath as the pain burned through my body and ate away at every part of me, from my toes to my fingernails to my eyeballs. Not a single piece of me was spared. An eternity passed in writhing, sobbing, mind-rending pain.

But soon the eternity passed. The searing pain became a less potent but still very physical one. I attempted to heave myself up and move but I couldn't, I was fumbling over arms and legs. I couldn't seemed to get a grasp on the ground, and my coordination was completely askew. Nothing seemed to be where it should have been.

I attempted to cry out once more but it wasn't my voice that answered my mind's command, it was a long and reedy whine. It cut off with a growl in time with my surprise and fear. I thought something, some creature, was here with me and in a panic I tried to skitter backwards just as a large and furry paw came into view. My mind took over and tried to lash out at it, but instead of my hand entering my field of vision to swipe it away, the paw moved. I froze, gasping and heaving and snarling ever so slightly. The pain had receded even more, and seemed to be slowly fading even further. The less pain throbbing through my head, the clearer I was able to think. And the first thought that occurred to me was that _that_ was my hand. I wiggled my fingers, or what used to be fingers, and the paw flexed.

_Holy fucking shit,_ I thought to myself. _Shit, shit, shit._ _What is this. No. It's a dream._ I found my other limbs and pushed upward. Surely enough I was standing on four legs, not too. I turned in a rapid circle and met with a long furred tail. It, like my paws, was a dark black color. It occurred to me that in this light, despite a full moon, I shouldn't be able to see such detail but the world around me stood out in stark relief, all its detail apparent to my eyes. I breathed in deeply thinking to steady myself but the barrage of scents only served to distract me. I smelled _everything_, from tree bark to ferns to rain, animal leavings and scent marks, and the animals themselves. I gasped, not from pain but in awe of the new world spread out before me. Between my eyes and my nose and my _ears_, there were no secrets.

I was still uncertain as to whether this was real or not. Everyone knows that you can't feel pain in dreams, and as the after effects of my previous agony still lingered in my joints. I decided to discard the prospect of a dream for the contemplation of a new and more disturbing thought. Had I died? Was this death? The pain had certainly seemed fatal enough. My breathing began to speed. Did dead things need to breath? And why did I have paws? None of it added up. I tried to calm down slowly, breath by breath, until my mind felt normal again. I would figure this out as I went, but for now I needed a plan.

Head clear, I pressed my nose to the wind and breathed in. Musk and mud and water floated on air and I turned into it, trotting away. I stumbled in the beginning, trying to figure out the coordination of multiple limbs, but before long my trot turned into a run. It was unreal, how quickly the world flew past me. I dodged trees, stumps, boulders with ease, all traces of klutziness gone. Finally I arrived at my destination, a small pond of old rainwater, still on the windless night. Gently I padded up to it and sat at the edge, not yet looking in. What was I? Would I like my appearance now? Whether I did or whether I did not, I'd have to look eventually. So I did.

As it was, I very much liked what I saw, in an odd way. My jaw dropped as I beheld my new visage. A strong, broad face, crested with tall pointed ears. A long, elegant snout rested below pointed, practically glowing ice blue eyes. A ruff of fur surrounded my face, undeniably a wolf's, framing me like some sort of dark halo. My jaw dropped, revealing long, sharp ivory fangs. I grinned a wolfish grin and felt my tail begin to wag with a mind of it's own. I could work with this. Of course, I still had no idea how this had happened or why, or if it was permanent or not. For now, all I really cared about was my rumbling stomach. It seemed that many of my human inhibitions were overshadowed by instinct, because on my way back towards the house a rabbit darted from its burrow and I was off like a bullet. It was no difficult matter to reach out and bat it aside. With a squeak the rodent hit a tree trunk and lay there stunned until I came to snatch it up.

My first thought was that this rabbit was only a baby due to it's miniscule size, but after a moment of comparing myself to trees around me, some familiar, I realized that I was just much larger than a normal wolf would be. With that cleared up, I snapped the rabbit up into my jaws and crunched it back. The meat was not slimy and tasting of blood, as I had imagined it would be. This body's taste bubs were set to a different scale and instead the meat tasted warm and nutty, of the grass and leaves the rabbit had eaten. My stomach hummed at the sustenance. I licked my jowls, cleaning them of bloody and stray tufts of fur. I could see the house through the trees and Charlie's cruiser sitting there in the drive. I smelled oil and gasoline, propane and garbage from the neighborhood. I smelt human waste and the synthetic foods. My nose curled and I backpedaled a few paces. I felt the grip of the forest tighten on me. I felt it snaring my mind, pulling me back deeper. Did I really need the human world, after all? I could hunt, I could run, I felt _strong_. Why should I go back there? I was different now, _special_.

Suddenly those wild thoughts were replaced by Alice's face. It swirled in my mind's eye and my breath caught. I was being ridiculous of course. How could I ever leave her, my new friends, behind? I had things to live for in the human world, important things. I closed my eyes and let my memories of her wash over me, trying to pull away from the forest's grip on my mind and soul. I remembered her artwork, and Esme's food, and Carlisle's kindness and her siblings. The briars of this body began to untangle. With a audible and distinctly human gasp I stumbled forward, falling to my hands and knees. _Hands_, I thought with a grin. I surveyed my body and found that my pajama tank top and shorts still clung loosely to my body and that even as a human my eyes, nose, and ears had barely lost any potency. I smiled and laughed to myself. I didn't understand any of this but it seemed like a good thing so far. Suddenly my illness made sense, it must have been a precursor to this.

Like a blow to the head I thought of my friends at La Push. The same sickness, how tall they had grown, the change in body types, the sudden alliance to the others. Were _they_ like this too? Was it a contagious illness, did I catch it from them? I had no answers of my own, so I decided to try and find them on my own. I closed my eyes once more and let the woods pull me back in. I adjusted much more quickly to my body this time and there was no pain, luckily. I grinned and took off at a run for the La Push border, but quickly skidded to a halt after barely two strides. I held a paw up in front of my face, brows drawn together. My fur was no longer black, but was instead a typical gray. I sat there for a moment, pining after the deep rich color I had been, until before my eyes it shifted back to black. I gasped and grinned, tail wagging again. I suppose it made sense that if I could shift into a wolf, I could change the kind of wolf I became. I changed my fur to white, then red, then a sandy hue. Pushing the boundaries for a few moments taught me to change even my size, anywhere from a coyote's stature to an enormous behemoth of a wolf, perhaps as tall as ten feet at the shoulder. I ran back to the small pond and watched as I changed. My eye color ranged from yellow to green, blue to brown, silver to red.

For a long while I sat and pondered the implications of this. Why could I do this, and how? Certainly there was no way for a person to manipulate their cells into any form they choose. And despite trying I never achieved anything other than a wolf even though it seemed I could be anything a wolf could be, barring size of course. What made the wolf so special and how did I come into this ability? Thinking it must have been that virus, I stood and set off. I quickly came to adore the feeling of taut muscle rippling beneath my fur, of sinews stretching and pulling according to my will. I bared my teeth in joy, snapping at the warm summer night air. Lightning bugs flared about me, like the eyes of the trees, watching my nigh silent passage. As the La Push lands grew closer I forced my body into a larger shape. If I did come across them, if they _were_ wolves and if they were still hostile towards me I thought it best to be as large as possible.

My body seemed to know the instant I crossed onto their land for my hackles raised and my fur turned black, the color that would best blend into the night. The full brunt of their scents hit me head on and I stumbled, a growl pushing through my lips. My mind was screaming to me that this was not my place, and that I shouldn't be here. That was only reinforced when a heavy weight crashed into my side. While I did not fall, I was pushed off balance and the air was forced from my lungs. I jumped up and away, turning midair with a snarl before crashing back to the ground to face my attackers. In front of me stood too larger than natural wolves, one russet and one gray, both larger than ordinary wolves. Both had snarls on their faces, but I only grinned. There may have been two of them, but they were half my size. My suspicions confirmed I waited for one of them to make a move, all the while wondering which of the Quilleute youths I faced...

**A/N: WOO! Success! Bella has achieved wolfyness! So what'd ya think? Bella settled into her second skin very well, but I think we all know she's no average *insert species here* (:**

**This chapter was longer than the others by a whole two pages because I didn't want to leave you lovely people hanging in the middle of her first shift! And next update we get our long awaited beat down of the wolves! :D**

**SHOUTOUTS! Jesus, you guys really came through with reviews. My mind is absolutely blown! Normally if I get ten per update I'm thrilled, but you amazing people have doubled that! I'm absolutely flattered.**

**C. SPIRITMASTER: Bella is neither a regular werewolf or a Shifter, but my own interpretation of, as you may assume from the title, a Lycan! I'll go into details that as Bella herself learns more, though.**

**NEB87: I'm working along the same thought train with the pack myself, I'm definitely looking forward to putting them through hell. I want nothing to do with the boys, but I'm probably going to do something with Leah and a Denali, seeing as I've had a few people asking for it!**

**DEJEE: The Cullen's suspect it. A bit of inside information, their powers don't work well on Bella and Carlisle has suspected things from her illness. Beyond that, you'll just have to wait and see!**

**BOLO: So happy you came back, you and your mild sass and whatnot. I'm so happy your approval is starting to grow. Fills me with warm and fuzzies. Though, seeing as you still have some disagreements I will fulfill my duty as the dutiful author to set them right. First point, I can have the Cullens know what's going on while the 'mutts' do not because, as evidenced in the Twilight Saga itself, the La Push pack is woefully uneducated. They didn't even know their own _species_, yet they're supposed to know Bella's? They're supposed to understand what's happening when they haven't spoken to her or seen her since it began? As opposed to Carlisle who spent time with the Volturi, the same Volturi who spent time hunting down werewolves of all kinds and is very educated in that particular subject? (However I would like to note here that Bella is NOT a werewolf.) Carlisle is also much older and wiser than the Quilleutes. So is it really that hard to believe? And true, Bella and Alice STILL haven't fallen all over each other, it's called pacing! And you are only seeing this story from Bella's point of view. Yes, she doesn't know she's Alice's mate yet! So neither do you! So calm your tits, take a breath, and let me tell my story. I'm sorry you don't know all the information yet. That's kind of the point of a story, it tells itself in TIME.**

**SPARKS1101: Awww, shucks! Epic Twilight Fics? Well thank you ^^**

**DARKPREDATOR7: I onnly have a few rules with updating. For one, I like to u[date at least once a week. I also shoot for at least 10 reviews per chapter, but recently that hasn't been an issue at all (: And finally, I'm an impatient person and if I really want to see what you guys think of a chapter, I'll post more frequently.**

**PRIMADONNA213: One vote for Tanya counted.**

**FOR EVERYONE: The current vote for the lovely lady that will win Leah's heart stands at: IRINA: 1, TANYA: 1! Let me know if you guys have any other suggestions (: Could be anyone, but I'd like to keep it lady love ^^**

**This chapter blew my mind with the response it received! Let me know what you thought of this one? Also, my PM box is always open if you have any questions, comments, concerns!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: You punks are darn lucky I love hearing your feed back, or you'd be waiting until Friday for this sucker! I'll reiterate at the bottom too, but for the record this is very different from what I had written but you all requested the same thing. So, while I'm going to have to rewrite BASICALLY EVERYTHING, here's your big fight (: Hope you crazy kids like it!**

They seemed uncertain, just standing there and waiting. Finally I growled and paced forward, and they paced back in time. "Who are you?" I tried to ask. My voice sounded human enough but very different from my own. It was richer and more velvety. Seductive, almost. The two wolves in front of me froze. Like a tidal wave, a cascade of words poured into my mind.

One said, _It can speak! _

And another asked_, Who is it, do you know?_

A different voice still answered, _How the hell could we know?_

Yet another said, _No one else was supposed to shift, no one else showed the signs._

_ Yeah, and this wolf is huge too, way bigger than Sam._

_ It's got _red_ eyes!_

_ What should we do, Sam?_

_ Fight it!_

_ No Paul, wait until we get there, and we can all take it down._

The voices all seemed familiar but I couldn't place them, there was just too much disconnect between my human body and memories. From what I could guess, there were approximately six of them out and about, two here and four on their way to fight me. Also, I inferred that they had some sort of mind link connection. _Is that right?_ I asked in my mind but neither seemed to hear me. I tried to tune back into their conversations and was barraged once more.

_Nearly there, hold on._ I saw the ground around them, rushing past their paws. They were fast, but not as fast as me.

_ How big are we talking exactly, I can't see quite right._

_ Fucking huge._

_ Has it spoken again?_

"You're really going to attack me? Just straight out, not even going to discuss this? That's not very nice, or very smart." I chuckled. Right then I didn't see my old friends, I saw the secret-keeping, traitorous bastards who had abandoned me. The memory of my aching jaw and the harsh sting of abandonment pounded through my head. "You tell Sam that I don't appreciate that one bit. Or, I suppose I could just wait until he gets here and tell him myself." I bared my teeth at the two wolves in front of me.

Understanding that I could hear them only if I tried, and that they could hear me only when I let them, I tuned back in. For a moment I thought it wasn't working but then I realized they had just fallen silent.

_ How does it know Sam?_

_ Who cares, its clearly aware of us. If we back down, who knows what it'll do later?_

_ It's clearly a threat. We need to take it down._

_ You really think we can beat it?_

_ Collin, it's ten feet tall and has red glowing eyes, but there are ten of us and one of it. _

"Excuse me," I said with a huff. "This 'it' is actually a she. And if you really want to have a go at me," I said, body buzzing with energy and power I had never known before, "go ahead and try it. I'd love to see what you can do."

The russet wolf in front of me lunged with a snarl as two new wolves surged from the tree line on my left and right. One was gray and stocky, the other slender and black but the biggest I had seen so far. Still, neither matched my size. I chuckled and with an outstretched paw swatted the russet wolf from the air. He hit the ground with a jarring thud and skidded until he crashed into a tree. As satisfying as the yelp was, I was busy dodging the oncoming attack. I ducked away from the two new wolves, catching the black one by the ankle with my teeth and tossing him aside as well. The lanky gray wolf, the one who had been with the russet, had seemed frozen in shock up until now. I looked at it as the two new wolves staggered. It's eyes glared at me.

"You want to try?" I asked.

_What the hell are you?_ The thought was pointed at me and in a distinctly female voice.

I grinned. "Ah, Leah I presume?" She seemed startled. Before she could answer, another wolf, small and sandy colored, crashed through the trees and charged me. I side stepped as he came abreast and took his scruff in my jaws, flinging him at the other gray who's name I still didn't know. They collided with yelps. When I turned back to Leah her eyes held a murderous fire. "Ah, now you're angry. Was that Seth?"

A snarl from her was my only response. To my surprise she didn't try her hand at attacking me, she only paced from side to side. I tapped into her head, focusing on the others thoughts.

_Keep her distracted, Leah. We're nearly there._

_ Seth, are you okay? _She asked, eyes flashing towards the growing pile of injured Quilleutes.

_I'm bleeding, but I'll be okay, _the now familiar voice answered her weakly.

_Jared, where are you all?_ A voice asked. I was fairly certain it belonged to Sam.

_We're here, just now. _ I raised my muzzle into the air. True to his word, I could smell five other wolves surrounding me. _Get up, we can all go after her at once._

"Oh, do we have tactics now? What a pleasant surprise! Go on then!" I didn't know where all this arrogance was coming from because logically I should be terrified. Their numbers were just so much better. Logically I was in real danger here, but my mind was still reveling in my new abilities. I felt like I could run to the moon if I really wanted to. I watched with a smile on my face as the dragged themselves to their feet. "You'd be better off running, you know," I said with a lazy roll of my neck. "I won't chase you if you do, you know. I know you Quilleutes are more likely to avoid a hard situation than face it."

Sam snarled and began pacing towards me. The rest of the pack did the same, slowly advancing paw step by paw step. I spread my limbs apart and lowered my head, bracing myself for the first leap. My mind seemed to be in overdrive, working a mile a minute. Thoughts, possibilities, tactics, ideas swirled behind my eyes. My limbs were tensed, ready to move in any direction I would need to, and my ears would have heard a pin drop. Finally, the stocky gray wolf jumped.

A frenzy of action followed him. As he leaped, so did a few others, and the rest darted towards me on the ground. I jumped not away from the gray's attack, but into it, letting my shoulder ram into his chest. The sound of bones cracking met my ear and he yelped, crashing to the ground and my larger body landing on top of his. I raised a paw to swipe at him but a sharp pain flared in my leg. The russet had latched his teeth around my leg and was pulling. With a snarl-turned-roar I spun on him and pounced, bringing him crashing to the ground with my full weight on top of him. My claws raked at his shoulders and the smell of fresh blood filled the air. Yet again I was interrupted as two hard masses rammed into my side. I was toppled to the ground and in a frenzy they descended upon me. Flashing teeth and claws raked at my skin and fro a moment panic burned red and white behind my eyes. With a surging blast of energy I heaved upward.

I was in a killing frenzy. Had their number been any less, had I had fewer distractions I'm certain the damage would have been more severe. Instead, though my claws raked and my teeth flashed and my jaws snapped, each catching limbs and bodies and fur, the smell of death never reached me. Blood on the other hand was in ready supply. Some of it my own, as I took another few chomps to the legs and one lucky bastard tore a nick in my ear, but most belong to the pack. The russet was the first to flee. I toppled him to the ground and rose on my hind legs, ready to crash my full weight down atop him. At the last moment Sam threw himself against my side and instead I landed just scant inches off my mark. The russet rolled to his feet and fled into the bushes. Seth was quick to follow, dragging a broken hind leg and Leah followed him. I raked my claws across a brown wolf's face and blood streamed into his eyes, blinding him. He too stumbled into the trees. One by one they fled until none but Sam and I stood face to face.

He was gasping for breath, his four legs quivering and a gash on his shoulder dripping blood into the dirt below him. His left ear was torn and ragged, and I do believe his hip bone had fractured by the sound it had made after I flung him onto the ground moments ago. I was injured as well, but the wounds seemed superficial compared to my adrenaline fueled high. None of my limbs had escaped their jaws, but despite their best efforts my bones had not broken. My ear was still nicked and my tail had lost a clump of fur. My ribs felt strained and battered but no more broken than my ankles. It was a miracle probably, or just one more thing I didn't understand about this body.

"So what will it be, Sam?" I asked with a low chuckle.

_Who are you?_ He asked again. The rest of the pack must have shifted back because no other voices intruded upon us. That or I was too focused on him, but either way I didn't care.

"I am the biggest mistake you ever made," I said with a low growl. "So go ahead, little coward. Run away. Run away and try to sleep at night knowing you are no longer the biggest, baddest wolf. And if you or your pathetic pack ever cross me again, I _will_ kill you."

_What is your _name_?! _He growled, exasperated. Fear shone in his eyes and his legs quivered. It looked like he wanted to run, and badly.

_Is it really so hard to guess? Who in this pathetic little town could ever hold a grudge against the La Push golden boy? _I scoffed and advanced upon him. _You're lucky I'm new at this or I might actually have the blood lust to kill you. For now, I suppose a concussion will do._ I charged him, ramming my shoulder against his side. Sam went sailing through the air with a yelp and crashed into a tree, felling it. He landed and did not move, thoroughly unconscious. I sneered at him, then sneered into the woods where the other Quilleutes had last disappeared to.

My raw anger began to fade as I turned for home and I was surprised to find that I regretted none of my actions. Down to my core I realized that I was a part of a different world now and that the rules here were very different. This was a primal place, and dominance was important. My instincts screamed that, even now. They wanted me to chase these tiny wolves off this land and take it as my own, but I resisted. I didn't need land, not really. My wolf wanted it, but I knew that I was still human first. I didn't know if that would change but for now I was content with my revenge. I was certain Sam would piece together my identity eventually, even if it meant futures confrontations. An odd thought popped into my head as I crossed the border. We were rival packs, I suppose. Somewhere in the melee I had assumed that the Quilleutes and I were different species entirely. None of them changed their size or color or anything. They broke more easily than I did, too. They had a border and I had a border, and we were rivals. I smirked, knowing I had surely earned their respect.

I crashed down onto my bed just as the sun was about to crest the horizon. My muscles ached like I had just run a triathlon, but it was a good ache. It was the ache of a night well spent. My wounds were only faint pink lines on my human body and rapidly healing. It was fascination to watch but soon my eyelids grew heavy. As much as I would have liked to stay awake for a year to contemplate everything that had happened I was far too tired. I sank into an easy, deep sleep. That was not to say I did not dream. I dreamed I was back in the glade of several night's past, and the same woman waited for me. The moment I noticed her I smiled.

"I understand now," I said.

She smiled too. "You did very well, Bella. I'm proud."

"Isn't that just being proud of yourself?" I asked with a chuckle, but it was rhetorical as I had bigger questions to ask. "So what am I?"

"You are a Lycan, dear Bella."

"And the Quilleutes? What are they?"

The other me scoffed and rolled her eyes. "They are the dirt under your claws, Bella. They're mere shapeshifters."

I frowned slightly. "The sickness we had was very similar, and I assume that's what brings on the change. Why are we so different if it comes from the same thing?"

"It is true that the manor in which you both find your true selves is similar, but its source is vastly different. They are creatures of anger and fear. A genetic mishap, fear for themselves and a short temper light their fuse. A foolish shaman lost to history bound their souls to that of a wolf, a haphazard mistake, a bound their fates as well. They react to vampires. Our kind are godly creatures, our gifts are the remnants of a proud lineage dating back to the times of myth and legend."

"You seem to know a lot for being me, who knows nothing," I said with a smirk, absently considering her information. "Vampires?" I questioned, wondering if she was toying with me.

"Souls are ageless, Bella. You and I are as ancient as the stones of the earth itself, and as wise as the Old Gods. And yes, vampires. We've met several already."

"Who?" I asked intrigued.

"Come now," she said with a smile. "Surely you can figure that out on your own."

I wracked my brain who on earth could I know that is a vampire? I was certain I would have noticed something like that. Who could possibly be a fanged, blood drinking, bat-shifting, sun burning, garlic fearing vampire?

"Maybe we should revise your image of a vampire first," she chuckled.

I grinned and said, "Yes please."

"Pale, hard, cold skin. Beautiful. Charismatic and agile. You've seen them out in daytime, but never in direct sunlight."

I gasped as the pieces fit together. "The Cullens?" I asked.

She tapped her nose with a smile.

"No way!" _Even Alice?_ I thought in wonderment.

"Even Alice," she said, answering my thought. "Vampires are the Quilleute's sworn enemies, according to them. The Cullen's presence is what changed your friends."

I sighed and thought on this for a long while, finally asking, "And how do Lycans feel about vampires?"

She seemed to waiver for a moment before replying. "Your closest relatives are actually on quite friendly terms with them, barring the Volturi."

"Volturi?" I asked.

"That's a long conversation meant for another time," she answered with a shrug.

I could accept that. I chased back our train of conversation to pull out another question. "But if this is the result of a 'proud lineage,' why isn't Charlie like me? Did this come from my mother's side?"

The other me seemed to pause, but finally she nodded.

"What?" I asked, noting her hesitation.

"The details of your birth are something to be discussed at a later time as well. For, now it is time for you to wake up."

"But wait, I have more questions!" I said, frowning.

"It's not my choice," she said with a smile.

Heavy hands clasped around my shoulders and pulled me upward, into the waking world. I gasped and drew back, choking down a growl as my eyes flew open. The light of the day, cloudy as it was, was almost overpowering and I winced. Charlie stood over me.

"C'mon Bella, you can't just sleep the day away!" Charlie's was loud and seemed hoarse against the other me's smooth and languid tone.

I just grumbled and flipped back over. "I'm recovering, go away," I mumbled.

Charlie chuckled and patted my shoulder. "You at least need to eat. Besides, your phone has been buzzing away all morning. And your new friend, Alice, called the house about three times asking for you."

Lucky my back was to Charlie because my eyes flew open as memories rushed about my head, each sentence the other me had spoken about her and her family screaming against my mind's ears. "Yeah, yeah, alright," I said as easily as possible. "Now scat so I can get dressed and give her a call."

"Sure thing, Bells," he said, patting my shoulder once more and walking from the room. He even closed the door behind him.

I flung off my blankets and lunged for my phone. Sure enough I had seven texts, each one growing more and more worried. I looked at the time and saw that it was two in the afternoon. I cursed and punched in Alice's number. It had barely rang once when her voice came onto the line.

"Bella?" she asked, tone taught with worry. _The voice of a vampire, _I thought with a sly smile.

"Hey Alice, sorry. I was sleeping."

I heard her sigh and while her words berated me, they also held a tone of relief. "You can't just sleep the day away like that! I was worried sick, I thought maybe you'd gotten sick again!"

"No, just... a long night of rest and recovery."

She paused and then, "You sound... different."

"How so?" I asked, frowning and worried that I'd somehow given my new secret away.

"I'm not sure. You just do."

"Helpful," I said with a laugh. "Well, you've only ever heard me on the verge of sickness and I'm feeling better now so maybe that's it. If not we can always blame the phone!"

"Sure, Bella." She seemed unconvinced.

In a sudden burst of reckless confidence I said, "Well hey, there's something I want to talk to you about. "Am I still hanging at your place today? Think we could spare a few minutes before then?"

"Of course," she said too quickly. "When can you be ready?"

I looked into the mirror in the corner of my room. My hair was fine, if not a bit tangled, so I didn't need to shower. My wounds had all but disappeared. "I just need to change clothes and I'd be good to go. If you drive the speed limit, I might be ready when you get here if you left now."

"I promise nothing," she said with a laugh. "See you soon then!" And then she hung up.

**A/N: I didn't want to kill any of them on the basis that I might have uses for them later, either as protagonists or antagonists, I'm just not sure! But the wolves are battered and bruised, both in body and ego! Good?**

**I mentioned above that this little scene changed a literal shit ton of what I had written later on but hey, the audience wants what the audience wants! I could never deny you fine folk, so here it is. Will you let me know what you thought of it, pretty please? Any ideas on what happens next? Next chapter HAS been written and revised already, and will consist of pulling the Cullens into the loop and getting everyone on the same page, including a serious education for both you and Bella! Yay!**

**SHOUTOUT TIME!**

**HEALER: I'm not sure, I would like to inform Charlie but at the same time, the air of secrecy is fun! If I do tell him it won't be until much, much later. As for your other questions, they'll be answered in time!**

**BOLO: Wow, I didn't feel mildly insulted by your review this time, what a nice surprise! Not a whole lot to respond to, but for tradition's sake, here's your shoutout!**

**ZERODARKWOLF: She is my own wonderful brain child of awesomeness and fluffy power, mostly because I haven't seen Underworld or Van Helsing, sorry to disappoint :D She's gonna be kickass regardless though so I hope that makes up for it!**

**HOPE6968: Aww, thanks for the awesomely kind words, and sorry for distracting you from your work, but it is what it is! I spent a good long time thinking about giving Leah a vampess from another coven, but A. Voting would be crazy hectic then and B. It would probably take a hella long time to work them into the plot :/ If I get any more requests for it before it comes time to write it out, I'll bring it back up though (:**

**SKALD OF FREYA: I know whatcha mean, I don't like Mary Sue characters either and it's been a struggle writing so far because I really want Bella to be this badass, kickin' butt and takin' names kind of girl but at the same time she, like everyone else, needs her fatal flaw. Don't worry though because I think I've got it figured out! She won't be Miss Perfect, I promise! **

**UNDERCOVERADDICT: Eventually I'm sure I'll throw some in but as far as I had planned the story would be told primarily from Bella's point of view.**

**Alright folks, that's it for this week! But knowing me and my impatience I'm sure it won't be long before I update again! As always, your responses to this chapter were phenomenally wonderful. I've always wanted one of my fics to hit 500 reviews and so far my money is on this one, not gonna lie, and that's all because of your loveliness! **

**The current Leah Lover vote stands at: Irina- 3, Tanya- 9, Kate- 6! I think this will only last a few more chapters, so get 'em in! Thanks again, I love you all!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry this wait was a bit longer than the others, but this was an eight page chapter so it's a lot longer than most! Hope that makes up for things! Lots of Bellice fluff in this one (: Enjoy!**

I spent a few seconds smiling into my phone, but figuring that was all I could spare, I quickly got up. I pulled on some denim shorts as well as a black tank top. I put my hair up into a messy bun and laced up my favorite pair of chucks. I had just slipped my wallet into my pocket, complete with belt loop chain, when a car honked from outside. I peeked through my blinds to see Alice's Porsche waiting on our curb. I smiled and made my way downstairs. Charlie sat at the kitchen table, off work for the weekend, and looking at me through narrowed eyes.

"Where are you off to?"

"Alice is here, I'll be back later!" I called over my shoulder, not waiting for an answer as I stepped out the front door.

My new eyes were easily able to pierce through the tinted glass of her car windows and I saw her jaw drop. Belatedly it occurred to me that I had grown yet another two inches. And she, being a supernatural creature like me (if indeed that's what we were technically called,) was certain to have noticed. Another belated thought: If they were aware of the shifters, my early indicator illness was sure to have tipped them off to me as well. Alice probably already knew. I grinned at her. To these eyes her skin seemed even more perfect, her eyes a more vibrant shade of gold. I walked around to the driver's side and tapped on her window. Once it had rolled down I leaned on the sill and smiled.

"Why, good morning!" Her scent hit me like a bullet train to the gut. It was ambrosia and warmth and honey and cedar. I very nearly swooned.

She seemed no less affected. I wondered what I smelled like to her. "H-hi," she mumbled.

"Tsk," I said, grinning. "The great Alice Cullen stuttering?"

"Shut up, Bella," she mumbled.

"Fine, I won't talk. Now get out here, we're going on a walk."

I stepped back, hands in pockets as I waited for her to get out of the car. She wore short black shorts and a red tee with a black and silver design emblazoned on it, and black running shoes covered her feet. Outside, she moved to my side and asked, "What's up, Bella?"

I looked down at her, now a good foot taller than her, and pantomimed zipped lips before grinning. Instead, hands still in pockets, I wandered into my woods. They really did feel like they were _mine_ now, as if I had claimed them. The trees seemed familiar and friendly, the land seemed to reach out to me, beckoning me to shift and run. But I held back, casting a glance at Alice every now and then. I led her to the pond I had frequented the night before. Paw prints covered the ground, some large and some small. I paused over the largest and looked down at it, noting as she did the same.

Finally she spoke. "That's one big dog," she said under her breath.

"We both know that's not a dog," I said back, tone low and even.

She took a long moment to respond before finally saying, "Do we?"

I looked at her and caught her eye, brows raising. "Come on, Alice. You know what I am. It may surprise you, but I know your secret as well."

It did surprise her, very much so. She froze and her breathing stopped. Her eyes closed and stayed that way. She asked me, "Oh?"

"You're a vampire," I said simply, with a shrug. "Your whole family is."

"Straight to the point," she mused, then, "And you're a shifter?" She ventured, opening her eyes once more.

I just smiled and shook my head. "Not nearly. Do you think those Quilleute mutts could leave a print that big?" I asked, kicking the dirt below me with the toe of my shoe. "No, I'm a Lycan."

Alice's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "But that's... They're... They're extinct."

That bit of information disturbed me, but I tried not to let it show. After all, dream-me had mentioned relatives on friendly terms with vampires. Why would Alice believe otherwise? "And yet, here I am! See?" And with that I let the will of the forest overtake me. When I came to rest again I stood perhaps six feet at the shoulder, fur snow white and eyes ice blue. To demonstrate my abilities I willed my fur to become black and I shrunk, turned my eyes green and grew to my largest size before settling back at my first form, circling her all the while and watching as she followed my gaze with an awed look of her own. "See?" I asked again, a human voice ringing from my mouth, still just as odd and seductive as it had been the night before.

"You can talk?" Alice asked, surprised. "And change your other form?"

My brows narrowed. "You don't know much about Lycans, do you?"

"I don't think you do either, and I know enough to know that none of that is normal! Come on, let's go talk to Carlisle, I'm sure he'll know more about it than either of us."

I just shrugged and pulled my human form back over me, following Alice back out to her car.

Once in the car, Alice asked, "So how did you find out about us?"

I smirked and said, "I doubt you'd believe me if I told you."

Alice just chuckled and said, "Bella, I am a vampire. You turn into a giant fluff ball at will, there's not a whole lot left in the 'unbelievable' market for either of us."

I laughed at the fluff ball part. "Hey, I am a deadly predator, thank you very much. And fine. I saw it in a dream."

Alice remained silent for a bit, mulling that over. Finally she sighed and said, "Well I'll admit that's weird, but I suppose I believe you for the sake of it. I want more details later though!"

"Agreed," I said with a grin, "but that has to go both ways. I don't know much of anything else."

"Agreed!" As usual, Alice's completely insane driving got us back to her family's abode in record time. As soon as Alice stepped out of the car she called out, "Bella's here and she knows the truth, finally."

Almost instantaneously her family appeared out on the front porch. If I still had my old eyes, I never would have been able to track the movement but now I watched each individual stride with ease. The Cullens had a mixture of expressions on their faces, from shock to joy (that was Emmett's,) to suspicion. I smiled and waved at them. As a collective whole they breathed in, most likely trying to pick up my scent, and then their expressions cleared.

Carlisle smiled and stepped forward, "Hello Bella! I see you finally shifted."

I grinned a quizzical grin and asked, "You knew, then?"

Carlisle faltered and said, "Well yes, of course. The symptoms were rather clear, surely you knew as well?"

I shook my head and said, "No, actually. I was _extremely _surprised. Still more than a bit shocked, if we're being completely honest."

Alice broke in then and said, "Carlisle, Bella doesn't know much of any of this, actually. And besides, she's not what we thought she was."

"Fascinating... Regardless, someone must have helped her shift last night?" Carlisle asked, brows drawing down in confusion, looking to me for confirmation.

I just shook my head, then Esme said, "Dear, let's take this inside so Bella can get comfortable, and we can all talk this out."

"Sounds lovely," Carlisle said with a smile. "If that's alright with you?" He asked me.

I nodded and followed them as they, at a human pace, retreated into the house and then settled onto the furniture of the living room. I settled onto a loveseat and Alice sat down beside me, curling her legs up underneath herself. I noticed how the faint light in the room set off faint red tones in her otherwise dark hair, complimenting her lips. A faint cough brought me out of my reverie and the group together. Carlisle began with, "So, Bella, what can you tell us? You truly had no knowledge of this?"

"None at all, honestly. I doubt my past would reveal any more to you than it did to me, but maybe that will be a place to start? There's a few loose ends, but no more than anyone living in the twenty-first century."

"Sure," Carlisle said with a smile.

I nodded then dug in. "I was born here in Forks. My mother and father were still married at that time, but by the time I was four my mom said she'd had enough of this town, so she moved us down to Phoenix. I stayed with her during the school year and stayed with Charlie in the summer. At the start of my freshman year..." I paused. This was where things got rocky. In truth, my mother just up and left. She said she needed to get out. I wanted to go with her but she wasn't having any of that. She sent my to live with Charlie and then disappeared. "My mother left, and sent me to live here with my dad. Charlie was friends with a man down at the Rez, so we spent a lot of time there. I got close to the kids. You all know the rest from there."

"Bella, since we're on the topic, I would like to know which one of them hit you." Alice asked through gritted teeth.

I sighed, knowing I could no longer evade the question with lies. "Why does it matter?" I asked lightly, not meeting her eyes.

"It matters so I can go hunt them down and give them a piece of my mind," she said in the same tone.

"None of that, now. I also know you and the shifters don't get along very well." I looked at her pointedly until she dropped my gaze, sulking.

Carlisle brought us back to the topic at hand by asking, "So you're not a shifter, then?"

"I do shift, but that's not my... species, so to speak. No, I'm a Lycan." I grinned sheepishly at him, waiting for a response similar to Alice's. I got room-wide gasps, even from Rosalie.

Edward said, "But they're extinct!"

"That's what I thought, until she shifted in front of me. And she's no normal Lycan, either," Alice said with a small smile.

"How so?" Carlisle asked. His eyes were alight with curiosity and I smiled.

"I don't have just one form," I said. "I can control my size, color, general build, etcetera at will."

Carlisle seemed to be thinking quite hard, but no one spoke as they gave him time to contemplate that.

"Oh, also I can speak in my wolf form. And I can speak to other wolves, or at least I could communicate with the Shifters."

"What?!" Alice said, whirling on me, amber eyes rapidly turning black. "Why on earth did you talk to the shifters! Bella you _swore _you wouldn't go there!"

I shrunk from her rage, scared and guilty. "I know, but that was before! Because of my illness at first I thought I had just contracted whatever they had! So after getting the hang of things I ran over to La Push and, uhm..."

"Bella," she said, her tone foreboding, the way a mother says her children's names to put the fear of god into them.

"I may have gotten into a fight with the pack."

"What?" she said, outraged as Emmett let out a buoyant, "Hell yeah!"

"I'm not going to apologize," I said with my jaw locked into a stubborn set. "I went there to see if they were the same as me, and instead of giving me a chance to explain myself they banded together and attacked me out right. So I gave back what they were giving out."

"You fought the whole pack?" Jasper asked, pleasant surprise written on his face.

I nodded and said, "Yes, they had me out manned but they're much smaller and weaker than my largest form. They landed a few hits but they've all healed since I slept."

"Remarkable," Carlisle said, leaning forward into his hands.

"Carlisle, don't encourage her! Bella could have been killed!" Alice said, outraged that her family seemed so supportive of my violent outburst.

"Hardly, Alice," Edward said with a kind smile, then looked to Carlisle to explain.

"Hardly indeed. Lycans are born with innate fighting ability. They were creatures born in times of war. As legend has it, the oldest gods fashioned them as their personal guards and soldiers. Fighting and war is in their genetics. Of course, we had assumed them all but extinct. No one has seen a Lycan of any sort for a thousand years."

"Of any sort?" I questioned. "How do you mean?" The god stuff fascinated me as well, but the nature of my new species took precedence.

"Well, Lycan's that take the form of a wolf are most frequently associated with the name, but the term Lycanthropy can be translated into simply donning a second skin. Lycans can take the form of many animals, but the most commonly thought of are wolves, bears, and lions."

"How do you know all this?" I asked, impressed.

Carlisle smiled sheepishly. "I was, for many years, a member of a large vampire Coven called the Volturi."

Remembering my dream, m interest piqued.

"They are the closest thing out race has to royalty. Their home is in Italy, and they enforce laws that keep us hidden from humans. They are also the oldest coven known to history, as their leaders were born in the days of ancient Greece. When they were first turned, Lycans could be found throughout the world as readily as vampires."

"What happened?" I asked.

Carlisle sighed out a sad breath and said, "Regrettably, the Volturi hunted them down. This was before my time, mind you, but I regret it as if I had been amongst the hunters myself. Caius, one of the three leaders, had a vendetta against the Children of the Moon, which are true werewolves who are turned by the power of the lunar cycle. In his thirst for their destruction any creature that was able to change their form into something else was hunted down as well. Obviously some escaped his warpath," he said with a smile. "Do you know anything about your lineage?"

I shook my head, contemplating everything he had said. "No. But I believe this came from my mother's side."

"Why?" Edward asked.

I shrugged. "She never exhibited any signs of being a Lycan too, but her flighty nature makes more sense if she was wrapped up in something like this."

Carlisle frowned and met eyes with Edward before saying, "I'm not sure if hybrid Lycans exist, with a human parent and a Lycan parent, but I am certain that two human parents could not produce a Lycan offspring. If your mother seems like a likely suspect-"

I cut him off with a raised hand. "I don't know. But there's someone I might be able to ask. When I sleep the other part of me breaks through and we can speak with one another. That's how I know what I am and what you are as well."

Carlisle took a moment to consider this. "I don't know much at all about all that, unfortunately, but I have never heard or read of a Lycan with these abilities. Speaking while shifted, yes in rare cases, but malleable second forms and these dreams? It's fascinating, but completely new to me. Even the fact that you were able to shift without someone there to help you is a miracle. Unlike shifters, Lycan's go through extremely radical physical, mental and most damaging of all, spiritual changes. Without a powerful member of their pack to guide them..." He broke off, only shaking his head.

"Perhaps the details have just been lost, Carlisle," Edward said with a thoughtful frown. "After all, the Lycans were a secluded race. It is possible that we just don't know."

"I suppose that could be true," Carlisle said nodding slowly.

"It definitely wasn't easy," I said. "In the beginning I really thought I was going to die. I woke up with that same damned fever but then the impulse to to get up and get out overwhelmed me. My room felt like a cage. So I ran outside and the forest behind my house seemed to call, almost. When I let it overwhelm me I collapsed and the change began. It took a long while for me to acclimate, but when I finally came to and the pain began to recede I found myself in a wolf's body. Beyond that, everything was natural."

"Astounding," Edward said with a grin.

"So is there anything else I should know?" I asked Carlisle.

He rubbed his chin for a moment and said, "Off the top of my head I know very little. But I may be able to help get some information for you. I could call some of my old contacts amongst the Volturi and possibly one other coven, see if they have any old tomes or literature about Lycans. There may be something of use to you amongst their libraries, which we could have shipped in."

I beamed at the prospect and said, "That sounds wonderful. Well then, I think it's your guy's turn!" I said with a smile.

Alice laughed and leaned forward. "Sounds good to me. Carlisle, you better go first."

And he did. He told me he was actually nearly four hundred years old (!) and had been born in London. He told me his journey, of how he had become a vampire, how he had discovered that he could drink animal blood instead of human blood. He told me of how he had come across Edward first and changed him. At that point Edward told his story, and when he was done Carlisle picked back up and narrated until they came across Esme, and then she broke off on her tangent. Next came Rosalie's story, or at least what she would tell me, including how she found and fought for Emmett. Finally Carlisle told how they had come across Alice and Jasper.

"Wait, so you just knew they would be there? How?" I asked, intrigued.

"Well," Alice said, almost sheepishly. "Uhm, some vampires, when they go through the change, develop gifts. Mine happens to be foresight."

"You can see the future?" I asked, to clarify.

She nodded.

"I can read minds," Edward threw in with a smile.

"And I can sense and manipulate emotions," Jasper said easily.

I zeroed in on Edward and said, "You can read minds?"

Edward chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Usually yes. Luckily for you, I'm sure, you seem to be an exception. I don't know why."

"Your future is blurry to me," Alice went on, "and I can't see the La Push wolves at all. One of the reasons I was so, uh, _adamant_ about getting a hold of you this morning was that when you went to La Push last night your future disappeared entirely to me."

I raised an eyebrow and smile lazily. "You were watching me?"

Alice, flustered, responded, "Well Carlisle and I knew you were going to shift soon and we wanted to make sure that you would be okay-"

"But you thought I was a shifter, how would you have been able to see me?"

Alice just huffed and looked away.

I chuckled and turned to Jasper, asking, "How about you? Do your powers work on me?"

He smiled back a knowing smile and nodded. "As far as I can tell they're no different."

"Well at least that's something, I'd hate to completely inconvenience all of you."

Emmett chuckled then clapped his hands together and stood. "Alright, c'mon Bella!"

I smiled and stood, ready to follow. "Where are we going?"

"Out back! I want to see you shift for myself, maybe spar a little. You down?"

"No Emmett, that's-" Alice began but I quieted her with a hand laid on her shoulder.

"It's alright Alice. Sounds good to me Emmett, but I'm gonna kick your ass even harder than at Call of Duty, I hope you know that," I said with a wicked grin.

Emmett scoffed and waved me off before leading me and the others outside. He ran into the center of a large backyard, waiting for me. A large porch wrapped around the back of their house with several steps leading off to the ground. Chuckling, I ran the two paces to the edge of the steps then leaped off, shifting in midair. I let my colors roulette (being the showoff that I am,) before landing as my quickly forming norm, a large black wolf with red eyes. I heard gasps from the porch and Emmett balked the smallest bit.

"Scared, big man?" My voice practically purred from my mouth. Oh, I was loving this. This body felt so natural I was having trouble believing it was mine. It was strong and lithe and agile, everything I had never been before.

Emmett recovered quickly. He scoffed and said, "Impressive I'll admit, but please! I'm not scared of jack shit, you're goin' down!"

Everything after that moved very quickly. He charged me, and almost before my mind realized what my body was doing I leaped upwards, twisted in midair, and came down on the vampire's back. I pinned him to the ground, one massive paw on each of his equally massive arms. He struggled against my weight but I pushed against him. Finally he deflated with a "You've got to be kidding me," and I stepped off of him. "Jasper, will you redeem our species please?" He asked next.

"Happy to," the blond vampire said, walking down the steps with his hands in his pockets, eyes alight with the challenge.

I analyzed him quickly. Jasper was leaner than Emmett, and from what I could tell, not nearly so headstrong or arrogant. He kept a cool temper. I was able to guess that he was more to wait and strike later, the opposite of Emmett who had charged right in. As such I pulled my form down to a smaller more agile size, but still large enough to keep the strength I would need. My legs were long form the speed and nimbleness I'd likely have to pull on. For fun I turned my fur snow white and made my eyes the exact hue of amber as his.

"Good choices," he said with a lazy grin. "Shall we begin?"

"After you," I smiled.

He smiled and began circling me, first to my right and then to my left. I tracked his motion all the while, waiting for any sort of tension or flicker that would give me the warning I'd need. Finally he made his move by darting at my right flank. I raised a paw to swat him away but at the last moment he feinted left and sent me rolling to the side. I twisted in midair, back on my paws and ready to lash out but I was a fraction too slow. He jumped towards me and onto my back, trying to get a grip around my neck. A savage growl ripped from my throat and I rolled over, throwing him off. As I came up I gripped his ankle in my teeth and threw him away from me. Before he could recover I was on him again, but Jasper did not struggle as Emmett had. Instead he let his body go slack for just one moment. In my confusion he struck, kicking his feet up into my underbelly and sending me soaring away. I crashed into the ground with an 'oof.' The air was forced from my lungs and before I could roll upwards and begin my assault anew, he was on me with hands grasping gently at my neck. I froze, then deflated, wagging weakly.

"Well played," I wheezed out with a smile.

Before I could even react, Alice was at my side with a finger jabbing into Jasper's chest. "Jasper you were way too rough, she only shifted for the first time _last night_ and you go flinging her around willy nilly! That was totally uncalled for! You were the second general in the Newborn Rebellion and you have to bust all that out to fight one newly shifted girl? Really?"

Jasper looked borderline terrified and he held his hands up in surrender.

I shifted back into my human form and intervened by placing my hands on Alice's shoulders, giving her a little shake. She surprised me by leaning back into me, still heaving and spitting mad. "Hey, hey, easy now. I'm fine! It was fun, and I get the sense that if Jasper had wanted to he could have done a lot worse."

Alice just huffed and continued glaring at her brother.

I looked to Jasper next and said, "Thank you, that was fun. Do you suppose we would be able to do that again so I could improve?"

"Sure," he said with a grin.

"Bella, no! You're gonna get hurt!" Alice protested.

Edward chuckled from the porch and called out, "Alice, we all spar all the time. Bella should learn too. Especially if there's bad blood between her and the shifters, we never know what could happen. Don't you want her to be prepared?"

Alice just huffed again, this time looking down at her shoes.

I chuckled and said, "C'mon tiger, calm down. It'll be okay. Besides, I never had any siblings to roughhouse with, this is fun for me." She said nothing so I gave her a little shake and said, "C'mon, cheer up!" Still nothing, so I sighed and moved my hands from her shoulders to her waist and picked the smaller girl up. She squeaked in rebellion but instead of putting her down I shifted her around to my back. She clung on and I held her legs, full on piggy back mode.

"Isabella Marie Swan, you put me down this instant!" She said with a nervous laugh.

I pretended to consider it as I turned to walk back to the porch, Jasper laughing at my side. "Hmm... Nah! I don't think I will. You're much more manageable this way."

"Excuse me, I do not need to be _managed_, thank you very much."

"Are you kidding me?" Emmett asked with a full out laugh. "The only way you could be managed better was if you were actually on a leash, that way you couldn't run free to wreak your normal amount of havoc."

"I do not wreak havoc!" Alice said with an indignant huff. "Bella, don't listen to a word they say."

Edward just laughed and said, "One time, back when we lived in Alaska, we were all going out hunting and Alice said she had a painting she wanted to work on instead. Foolishly, instead of leaving someone behind to babysit her, we left. We came back to find not only every single room in the house rearranged, but all of our cars had been driven to different parts of the state. We had to go hunt them down, and this little devil laughed all the while."

I cast an incredulous glance over my shoulder as Alice tried to defend herself. "That was one time, and I was bored!"

"What about the time you decided to play hide and go seek with our car keys at the Mall of America?" Rosalie asked with a smirk.

Alice huffed and said, "You all wanted to leave and I wasn't ready. That bought me another two hours."

"Not to mention ten thousand dollars worth of sweaters, skirts, and heels," Esme muttered under her breath.

"Ten thousand dollars?" I asked, unbelieving.

Alice remained silent.

"You're crazy," I muttered, shaking my head. As a whole we all reentered the house, Alice still comfortably wrapped around my back.

"Are you hungry Bella?" Esme asked with a smile.

I grinned sheepishly and said, "If it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all, dear," she replied and disappeared into the kitchen.

I walked back into the living room where the others had congregated in front of the xbox once more. Emmett had fired up Skyrim and Edward, Carlisle, and Rosalie lingered to watch. I cast a glance over my shoulder to where Alice watched as well and sighed, saying, "I am going to flop down and sit on you if you don't hop down."

"Do it, you won't," she challenged.

I laughed and backed up to the loveseat we had shared earlier before flopping down with all my weight. I heard Alice 'oof' and for a moment she stayed still underneath me. Then I felt her wriggling and she scooted out to a side, only to flop back down, sprawling across me. Her head was right in front of mine. "Alice," I mumbled out, trying to keep her hair from my mouth.

I heard Jasper and Edward snickering, and I assumed they had turned and caught sight of my predicament. "Yes?" Alice asked, innocent as a new born child.

"Oh, I don't know, nothing really," I said sarcastically. "Except that I can't see."

"Sounds like a you issue!" She said, mirth in her voice. "After all, you called me crazy _and_ restricted my motion _and_ didn't let me properly chew out Jasper. So there."

I sighed and said, "It may be a me issue, but it's about to be a you issue too."

"What? What are you- eep!" I poked my fingers into Alice's sides, a classic retard button attack and she jolted, stopping her words mid flow. I continued running my fingers along her sides and ribs, until she was fighting to get away. Instead I locked my knees against her sides and held her there. "Bella, s-stop it! No, I'm ticklish, k-knock it off!" She said through bouts of laughter.

"Alice you should know better than to cross me, I had to manage those La Push assholes somehow, and I am a master immobilizer."

"B-Bella, quit it!" Alice gasped out.

A shiver ran through me, and my stomach flared with butterflies when Alice said my name that way. I felt my heart jolt in my chest and I released her before it got any worse. She scooted to the far end of the loveseat. I felt the wolf stirring within me, desperately clawing against my control, straining for release. Alice's eyes were wide and bright, her hair and clothes disheveled. My wolf growled within me, begging to be let free. Looking at Alice, for a moment I could swear she was no less affected. There was a certain primal hunger in her gaze, that pulled me in.

Esme was my saving bell. "Bella? Lunch is done, whenever you're ready."

Quickly, maybe too quickly, I stood and walked towards the kitchen. "Awesome, thanks Esme. I'm starved."

**A/N: *Whistles* DAYUMM! God, I love these two together. I really do. So how was that, you all got some edjumacation as did Bella, and some cutesy Bellice! I thiiiink next chapter I'm gonna fuck something up, for the sake of this story had been too slow so far (: Your thoughts? Keep this relaxed pace or mess something up? Let me know!**

**SHOUTOUTS! Once more, you guys have honestly astounded me. Every chapter so far has gotten more reviews than the last. I am just... mind blown. Not gonna lie.**

**HEALER: I can't answer EVERYTHING, that would ruin the story! That and I'm kind of rolling along as I go here (: But I'll answer what I can. Right now I'm thinking the source of Bella's change is either going to be A. Some cosmic hooplah about to go down, B. The result of being ousted by her 'pack' (The La Push group) that caused her wolf to shine through, or C. *insert different idea here* Get my drift? It'll be important, I just don't quite know how yet! And yeah, you Irina lovers are on the down side, I think Tanya is going to win it!**

**BOLO: Haha, thanks for the faith, Bolo. Much love xD**

**EMPATH82: D'aww, kind words fill my heart with warm and fuzzies! I'm sorry that I can't update multiple times a day, I'd never be able to stop writing and I doubt my goals to graduate high school this spring would appreciate that (: I like this Bella as well. Badass Bella is badass, after all!**

**SKALD OF FREYA: True, in my original version Bella and the pack just exchanged harsh words and then Bella left before it could break into a fight, which still left wiggle room, but the majority of the readers wanted to see some hurt put on them for hurting Bella and it is my job to make as many people happy as possible! Or at least give them a good read (: Leah will end up with a Denali if that gives you any hints as to whether they chill out eventually! Haha, because that's not a massive hint or anything . Bella will be taken down a few notches eventually, she's not the end all be all. HOWEVER, I would like to make note that the species I've invented is first somewhat like demigods and secondly that Bella is going to have 'alpha blood,' both of which WILL make her very powerful. She's not the end all be all but she will be winning more than losing, if only because she has the genetics to back it up. Also, Dream Bella will be serving a crucial part in the story, so don't give up hope yet!**

**SONICTHEHEDGEWOLF: No need for worship here, but sacrificial e-cookies are always appreciated (: **

**And that's that for now folks! _This next chapter will be the last open to voting for Leah's lady lover!_ Right now it stands as such - Irina: 4, Tanya: 15, Kate: 10! Get 'em in folks! And any other ideas or suggestions are more than welcome! My PM box is always open and I love you all!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: NEWWW CHAPTERRRR! Yay (: I decided not to fuck with anything... yet. Instead, some serious Bellice progression ;D Enjoy!**

The counter in the kitchen was covered with at least a dozen sandwiches, all of a different sort. I tucked in with glee, all the while trying to answer some of Esme's polite questions. How was I coping, how did I feel, what did I think of this new life and what not. When I finished eating, I was surprised to look out the window and see the sun was setting. I was confused until I remembered that I hadn't woken up until two in the afternoon. I smiled and thank Esme for the food. She tried to usher me back out into the living room but I insisted on helping her with the dishes, partially to be nice and partially because those impulses still scared me. When all was said and done the sunset was in full swing. The clouds had broken up enough to let the perfect amount of light shine through, turning the sky a blazing pink, orange, ruby, and purple hue. Out in the living room I walked up to a large bay window and gazed out and up.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Jasper asked with a smile noting my interest.

I looked back at him and smiled. "Yeah. These sunsets are so rare, I always like to spend some time watching them when I can."

"Well lets go then!" Alice said, jumping up from the couch.

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"Come on, there's this super awesome meadow nearby, it'll have a great view." She bolted past me out the front door.

I gave her gathered family a withering glance, albeit still smiling, against their amused grins. I followed at my own pace, only to find Alice bouncing on the balls of her feet at the edge of the woods back behind the house.

"Could you _be_ any slower?" She asked, in a manor I interpreted as rhetorical. Barging in she said, "Wolf out already or we're gonna miss it!"

I chuckled and figured I might as well not bother arguing with a psychic. I pulled my wolf skin over me, bounding forward a few paces from the momentum. I was in the guise of a large gray wolf this time, just to try new things. My eyes matched the exact shade of Alice's gold, a fact that I'm sure was not lost on her, seeing as our gazes were locked.

She held my gaze for a moment longer before sighing and saying, "That is so cool."

"Well, yeah," I chuckled, shivering at my own sultry voice. If I wasn't mistaken, Alice shivered too. "So are we going or not?"

Alice beamed and said, "Follow me, if you can keep up, that is." She dashed off into the forest and I laughed heartily, dashing after her.

"Oh please, I was born to run," I said as I flew past her.

"Hey now! You don't even know where you're going!" She called out, giggling at my enthusiasm.

I sighed in a sort of agreement and slowed until I kept pace with her.

"Stronger than Emmett, faster than Edward, more beautiful than Rosalie. If we don't watch out you're going to outshine every single one of us!"

I laughed and said, "Well I can't paint or cook, so you and Esme don't have anything to worry about." I paused for a moment to further analyze her words before allowing a broad, slightly snarky grin to spread across my wolfy face. "You think I'm more beautiful than Rosalie?" I wondered if she had slipped up or if it was a planned compliment. Either way I had hoped to catch her off guard.

I noticed Alice bite her lip from the corner of my eye. She seemed to be debating, then, "Well you are, so yes. And I'm starting to think Lycanthropy has made you rather cocky, Isabella."

I chuckled and said, "I've always been cocky, only now I have the badassery to back it up! Thank you, though. I've never been called beautiful before." Alice slowed to a halt and it took me a few paces to react. I skidded to a halt and turned around to face her, one brow cocked in question.

"Really?" Alice asked, disbelieving.

I shrugged my large shoulders and said. "Yeah, well. It's no biggie."

Alice just shook her head and slowly walked past me. I could smell the meadow grass up in front of us and could see specks of colored sky through the canopy. I shifted back to my human form and followed in Alice's footsteps. She pushed through the edge of the woods and through a dense wall of shrubbery, which spilled out into a beautiful, secluded prairie. I gasped at the smells and colors of it. The sky was a blazing conflagration of ruby and tangerine and violet, with a few pin prick stars beginning to shine through. Wispy, puffy clouds were dyed yellow and pink and blood orange, drifting lazily on a warm breeze. The meadow smelled of baked grass and thousands of flowers. Blue and yellow and white dotted across the grasses. A small flock of songbirds burst from cover at our arrival.

"Wow," I sighed. "Now _that_ is beautiful. Alice this is amazing!"

"Yeah, it's my favorite place to visit. You know, I've never hunted here. I mean I guess it's kind of silly but it almost seems sacrilegious in a place like this. I don't want to sully it."

"No, I totally get it," I said, smiling over at her. She took my breath away. Her skin was awash in a golden light; she seemed almost to be glowing. It complimented her eyes and they stood out to me, glowing like small topaz embers. Her black hair fluttered in the breeze, and when her scent mixed with the meadows I couldn't help but take a deep, shuddering breath. My head filled with a delightful buzzing sort of dizziness. What was _happening_ to me?

Alice seemed no less affected. All at once neither of us could breath, not that she had to, but the effect was the same. We were frozen, locked in each others gaze. All at once, every memory I had ever had of her, from the moment we had met all the way up to this instant flashed behind my eyes, even vague recollections of her gently carrying me from my house to her car when I was sick with the early stages of my transformation. Every tender caress she had hoped I wouldn't remember. The wolf in me was savagely battering my restraint, wanting nothing more than to pounce on this small vampire and make her mine. Hell, I wanted it too but I barely knew her and of course I had no idea where this was coming from. They way she had gasped out my name less than an hour ago pounded through my head again and again, and my breathing began to speed up.

All at once, we moved towards once another, magnetized.

Our lips crashed together with a frenzy that left my stomach in knots, my knees weak, and my body tingling. My mind exploded with a vibrant joy I had never experienced before that instant. Without commanding them to do so, my hands wrapped around her back and pulled her smaller body flush against mine. Every bit of her that touched me set my skin alight. I gasped into her mouth as her cool lips began to press and work against mine. Her scent filled my nose and I thought fleetingly that I had never been so overwhelmed and simultaneously that I hadn't even really been alive until that earth shattering moment. Alice moaned into my mouth and I clung to her all the more desperately. My knees shuddered traitorously and I quickly backed us up against one of the outlying trees, broad enough to support my weight. The moment my back hit the bark Alice leaned her whole weight against me and I spent less time worrying about my balance and more about the sensation or her mouth on mine.

I don't know how long we were lost in that world of touch and feel, only that when we finally pulled away from one another, panting, it took a moment for our brain to kick start back into action. Alice, standing on her tip toes, rested her head in the crook of my neck and I clung to her like a lifeline, trying to regain my breath. Alice was the first to speak, letting out a breathy, "Holy shit..."

"Mhmm..." was all I could manage in response.

"I- I... Should I apologize?" Her words were slowly and deliberate, as if she were having as much trouble with coherency as I was.

"God no," I said then took a deep, steadying breath. Then, "Shit, that was..." I couldn't complete my thought, so I just stood there shaking my head in disbelief.

"I know." She paused for a moment then asked, "Bella, I'm gonna tell you something crazy, okay?"

"Go for it," I said.

"Well, a lot of the time supernatural creatures, or immortals anyways-"

"Am I immortal?" I interrupted, feeling it was an important question to ask.

"What?" Alice asked, seeming caught off guard, then went on, "Oh, yes. You are. Didn't you know?"

I laughed and said, "Sorry, it wasn't in the pamphlet. Cool though," I said with a smile. "Keep going."

Alice lifted her head off my chest and gave me a questioning glance, as if to ask if I were really taking news like that so smoothly. I was, so she went on with, "Well, immortals a lot of the time have mates. Like _soulmates_, and... I think you're mine." Guilt flashed behind her eyes, though I couldn't imagine why.

I pondered that for a moment. Under that context, the weird magnetism I'd felt for her all day today suddenly made more sense. Still I asked, "Why do you feel that way?"

"Well..." she began. "Whenever I tried to look for my soulmate, I wouldn't get a vision but I also wouldn't get blocked out. It was a sort of fuzzy in between with undertones that made it specific. Like scents or feelings, almost. And when I have visions of you it's the same. Beyond that it's just... a _feeling_ I guess." She looked down at her feet, clearly embarrassed and worried.

"I feel it too," I said softly and she looked up quicker than a human would have been able to track, searching my eyes for truth. I brought a hand up to brush her pale, porcelain cheek. "I guess it really is my lucky day." I watched her expression and then laughed. "Why do you look so surprised?"

She shrugged helplessly, her eyes wide. "I just... I guess I'm surprised you're so okay with it. I mean, I don't want you to feel limited or any of that. If you don't want to be with me I'd-"

"Shush," I said, moving my hand so that a finger rested over her lips. "Alice ever since I met you I haven't been able to stop thinking about you and now I know why. Honestly, I would be honored if you thought of me that way. We don't know much about one another but time will remedy that, I'm sure. I already think you're amazing, and I think for now that's good enough. How about we take it slow and see where things go from there?"

Alice processed my words for just an instant before beaming up at me. "Deal. Great. That sounds wonderful Bella, I'm so happy you're not mad at me."

I scoffed and said, "How on earth could I be mad at you? You just blew my mind with a _kiss_, nothing could bring me down from this high," I said with a smiled. I lowered my hand yet again to gently hold her chin, bringing out faces together again. If our last kiss was a jarring explosion of sensation, this was a slow burning ember of newly kindled passion and wonderment. It filled my body with a comfortable heat. Alice smiled against my mouth and I pulled away once more. "So what will your family think?" I asked after we separated.

Alice chuckled and said, "Edward read my mind when I had my first vision of meeting you, back in Alaska-"

"Alaska?" I interrupted yet again.

"Yeah, it was very short but I knew then that you were meant for me even if I didn't know exactly who you were. All I saw was the hospital room and then your father, but the bed beside him was pretty indistinguishable but it was the clearest one I had ever had. When we came to Forks I felt you here, but because you spent so much time down on the Reservation I could never meet you. Anyways, they already know, sort of. The boys have a bet about it."

"Who's going to win?" I asked with a smile.

"Edward," she grinned back. "He bet we'd be together within a week. Jasper bet a month, and Emmett bet I'd never get around to it."

I laughed again and said, "He didn't have much faith in you, I take it."

Alice rolled her eyes and said, "He likes to tease, even if it means losing out on a few hundred bucks. Speaking of which, Emmett's taunts will be relentless, but I'm sure your backbone is strong enough for that."

"Hmm," I said, considering. "I'm sure I'll think of something." I cast a glance up at the sky. The sunset had passed it's peak and the woods were turning a dark, dusky blue color even though the sky still held onto its last vestiges of color.

"We should probably get going," Alice said quietly.

I knew she was right, but I sighed all the same. This moment was too uniquely wonderful, I never wanted to leave. I wanted to stay wrapped up in these infinite feelings forever. "Yeah, alright." An idea struck me like a light bulb flashing into luminance and I grinned.

"What?" Alice asked.

"Let's go back my way," I said with a wicked smirk. "I want you to see how fast I can go." I stepped away from her and pulled the forest into me, expanding it through my muscles and veins until I stood on all fours as a long legged dusky gray wolf, wearing for the moment emerald green eyes. "Hop on my back."

Alice looked like a kid in a candy store. She lithely vaulted onto my back and settled just behind my shoulder blades. She grabbed two fist fulls of my neck ruff and adjusted her balance. "Does this hurt at all? The fur, I mean?"

I rolled my shoulders, smiling as she giggled. "No, it's fine. There's not a lot of feeling there. I figure it's kind of loose so if it's grabbed in a fight it doesn't hurt."

"Nifty!" Alice said with a chuckle.

I smiled and stretched each limb individually before leaning back, preparing to rocket forward. I felt Alice tense her legs and chuckled, then I was off. I heard Alice gasp and clench tighter, ducking down to streamline herself and so she could better adjust to the rhythm of my gait. I laughed with glee, the impact of these past twenty four hours finally hitting me full on. I was a freaking _werewolf_, I had just made out with Alice freaking Cullen, who happened to be my soul mate and maybe girlfriend. While I wasn't sure about the technicalities of the last bit, it was still enough to make me beam. The blast of energy went straight to my legs, a bountiful energy that had me laughing aloud as we hurdled through the forest. The world blurred, even to my eyes, but my body had no difficulty knowing where my paws needed to go.

All too quickly we were back at the Cullen mansion, both winded from exhilaration. To my delight my body still felt ready to go another hundred miles, the coursing energy still poured through my veins. Alice lay flush against my neck, laughing a high and giddy laugh of our shared adrenaline rush. She buried her hands deep into my ruff, running her fingers through it, making me hum in delight. I saw her family walk out onto the front porch and smile at us as I padded slowly from the forest, step by step.

"Bella, that was amazing! How do you even move that fast?" She asked in wonderment.

I chuckled and said, "How do you expect me to know? I only shifted for the first time not even a full day ago!"

Alice sighed and said, "Sorry, I keep forgetting. You must just give off an aura of knowing what you're doing."

"Hmm, that must be it," I joked along with her. In a flash I pulled my wolf form inward, so suddenly that for a moment Alice was left hanging in mid air. As she fell I recovered and held my arms outward, catching her bridal style before she could hit the ground. "Or maybe I'm just suave like that."

After regaining her bearings she punched me lightly in the shoulder and said, "So about that arrogance thing we were discussing."

"Arrogance? What arrogance," I said in mock astonishment. "It's not arrogance if you can back it up, you know." I flipped her around to piggy back position once again, but this time instead of complaining she settled in and rested her head on my shoulder. I looked up at the faces on the porch, hopeful, uncertain smiles on each and every one. I chuckled and said, "Edward won the bet, by the way."

While Esme and Carlisle broke out into broad smiles, two boys groaned and Edward cheered, and Rosalie looked impassive yet thoughtful. Jasper dug out a wad of cash and handed it over, then turned immediately to congratulate us both.

"I always knew the day would come eventually. I know you'll treat her right, Bella." Jasper was all smiles, he even shook my hand.

Esme was next but she bypassed the hand shaking and went straight to hugging, wrapping me in her arms and by extension, Alice. "I'm so happy, thank you so much Bella. Our family's final piece."

"Easy there Esme, don't want to scare her off this early in the game," Emmett said, walking up behind her. He gave me a once over before gently moving Esme away, gently pulling Alice from my back, then wrapping his arms around me and not so gently spinning me around in circles, squeezing all the while.

"Emmett, for every one of my ribs you crack so help me, I will remove a limb!" I threatened with all the breath I had in my lungs.

Emmett guffawed and dropped me. I landed lightly on my feet, then punched him in the chest. To his evident surprise, he actually stumbled back a few paces. Alice grinned and came up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. "Don't mess with my girl, Em, she'll mess you up!"

Between Alice calling me her girl and Emmett attempting to defend himself, none of us really noticed Carlisle's cell phone ring until he said, "Hello Sam. How can I help you?"

We all froze and turned to look at Carlisle, faces strained and eyebrows drawn in suspicion or eyes narrowed in anger.

"I see..." Carlisle said with a sigh.

Edward flashed over to us and said, "Sam wants permission to come onto our land and check for a rogue wolf he claims is a danger to his pack or the townsfolk."

I burst out laughing. "That's completely idiotic, him coming after me so soon. What do they expect will happen?"

Carlisle talked on. "Interesting. May I have a moment to discuss this with my family?... Thank you." Instead of asking the other Cullens Carlisle looked straight at me and whispered, "What do you think, Bella?"

I thought for a moment, considering all the possible outcomes, but in the end I grinned broadly and replied, "Well, I _did_ swear to kill them if I ever saw them again, but that was mostly bravado. Besides, I want to see their jaws drop when they realize I'm the wolf, and I'd hate to deny the rest of you that pleasure as well."

"What if they see our alliance with Bella as a risk to their pack and try to attack anyways?" Jasper offered up, frowning.

"They know that would be suicide," I replied. "I don't think we need to worry about that. I'm not sure why they think tonight will be any different than last night, but more power to them."

Jasper shrugged then turned to nod at Carlisle. Carlisle raised the phone back to ear and said, "As long as we can agree that the treaty's other points will remain in effect. I wouldn't like your pack mates to attack my family, as I'm sure you wouldn't like my family to attack yours."

I heard Sam's muted agreement from the other side of the line.

"I'm glad to hear that. Well, in that case I would recommend beginning your search at our home. I believe we would be able to assist you." I also heard Sam's laughter and stark refusal. Carlisle smiled and said, "Very well! I wish you all the best in your hunt."

The moments Carlisle ended the call Emmett burst out into laughter. "What idiots. They're going to end up here anyways."

"Sam's always been stubborn," I said, rolling my eyes. "Prideful too. He'll never accept help from you."

"You sound like you know him fairly well," Jasper said with and easy grin.

I shrugged. "I got a glimpse into their minds last night, it was surprisingly comprehensive. It's not hard to guess their motives and actions when you've sampled how they think."

"But wouldn't they have the same advantage over you?" Edward asked, clearly intrigued.

I wavered, then, "You know, I don't think so. It was selective when I heard them and when they heard me. I don't think I let them into my mind or else they would know who I was."

Edward nodded slowly, considering this information.

"So now all we do is wait," Emmett said, sitting on the porch and leaning back with an easy grin.

For the first time, Rosalie spoke. "I'm not okay with this," she said, blunt.

Alice's eyes narrowed but Emmett just frowned, leaned back to more properly look at her and asked, "How come, babe?"

"I mean, she's practically one of them! And Carlisle, you just invited their _entire pack_ over the treaty line."

"Are you suggesting that Bella is working with the pack?" Alice asked, her voice mute with restrained anger. "After she nearly killed them less than twenty four hours ago?"

"I'm suggesting that we don't know the situation and that it's very dangerous to us all."

I turned around and looked Rosalie square in the eye, gaze and tone level. "Rosalie, I'm no danger to your family. If the Quilleutes try to attack, I swear on my father's life that I'll be on your side of it. They abandoned me for their pack and while I understand now, I can't forgive them. They're no friends of mine. The only thing I hope to gain from this encounter is the chance to finally and completely rub their mistake in their grimy, mangy muzzles."

Rosalie held my gaze as well then finally sighed. "For Alice's sake, I suppose I believe you." She looked away with a slight grimace still on her face, but I took it anyways.

Alice smiled, a surprised light in her eyes, then walked to her sister's side and lay a hand on her arm. "Thanks Rose, that really means a lot to me."

Rosalie smiled a small amount but the worry didn't leave her eyes.

Edward nudged me and said, "They're getting close. You better shift, or they'll see you. Don't want to ruin the surprise, do we?" He asked with a grin.

"Of course not," I said with a smile. As easily as slipping into a pool of warm water, I pulled my wolf shape over me, the same they had seen last night. Tall, imposing, coal black fur and ruby eyes . I wondered what they looked like in the glowing darkness. The moment that form had completely settled I rolled my shoulders and flexed my neck. I stretched and paced a few steps. "Oh, I _do_ love this body," I said in my sultry lupess voice. "It feels so limitless." I noticed Alice eying my appreciatively. I turned to her and smirked.

"This is the biggest I've ever seen you, I think. Is that as big as you can go?" She asked.

I weighed that for a moment, taking a quick mental inventory. "Maybe a bit larger." I focused and my legs morphed another few inches, and my body lengthened the same. Like an alarm flag raised behind my eyes, I knew the wolves drew close, I could feel it in my gut. I stiffened, eyes darting to where they would appear. "Looks like our guests have just about arrived."

The moment the words left my muzzle, I noticed a pair of glinting amber eyes just beyond the tree line. My mind reached out and felt for the presence. I chuckled and called out, "Come out, come out wherever you are! Did you all miss me that much?"

**A/N: SUCCESS! Bellice is a thing. Tentative, but a thing nonetheless. Neither Bella nor Alice have really put a label to it yet though, so it's not like BAM they are dating. They're still gonna work a few things out. And, pardon the cliffhanger, but the pack isn't done just yet!**

**AS FOR LEAH'S LOVER! The total came to Irina: 4, Tanya: 20, Kate: 22, Angela: 1! You guys voted like crazy which filled my heart with joy! Tanya and Kate really had a Battle Royale there, but Kate fans pulled through! Congrats, guys! The Denalis will pop up here soon enough (:**

**SHOUTOUTS! Only one this time, looks like I'm clearing things up for you all, slowly but surely!**

**UNIHAR: I'm sorry you feel like this is so similar to other fics. The sad reality of it is that to set up a deviation from the main story line, basic steps need to be taken. Altering these things mean that I, like every other supernatural writer, still needs to introduce the characters, bond Bella to the Cullens, and set up a dynamic that is similar enough to the original saga that people still want to read it. Luckily I have achieved these things as of this chapter which means I finally get to have my fun (: I hope you'll stick around and give it more time?**

**Next Chapter: More Pack frolicking and an unexpected visitor. Any guesses who? See you next update, I love you all!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm an impatient motherfucker! Here's your next chapter my lovely readers (: **

**Random side note: I had my first Rugby practice yesterday and let me tell ya, I am hurting. There is not a muscle in my body that isn't sore as hell. It was fun though! Do any of you guys play? Okay that is all, read on!**

I tapped into their mind link. _It's with those things. I should have known. Damned blood suckers._

_ It's a trap, it has to be. We need to get out of here _now_. _

I chuckled again and called out, "It's not a trap, thank you very much. Just a little get together between old friends. You should have listened to Carlisle's advice Sam, he was trying to save your energy. Here I am! Have you figured it out yet?"

I heard growls coming from the tree line. _No. Who are you?_ Sam asked.

"Out of curiosity, what does it matter who I am?" I asked genuinely. "You really should be asking 'what' am I. That's a lot more important, don't you think?"

The growls increased in volume. _I won't play your games, woman._ Sam growled out.

"Tsk," I said, mocking offense. "Woman? How rude. I suppose that's better than 'it,' though. Why don't you actually come out here and we can have a nice, friendly chat."

Sam laughed. _I don't think so. I'm no fool_.

I rolled my eyes and sat down. "Fine, does this make you feel better?" I shrunk my size before their eyes, going from a large black wolf to a white wolf with blue eyes, approximately the size of the wolves I had seen the night before.

I felt his mental pause, and then with a ripping growl he launched from the woods and skidded out onto the lawn, ears pressed against his skull. Were I human, his black fur would blend in with the darkening forest but now I saw every detail, every hair out of place. I heard growls in the throats of the vampires behind me at the sudden motion but Sam didn't seem to notice or care. Despite still being a good twenty yards from me he snapped his jaw and yelled in his mind, _What are you!? You're no shifter and you're no vampire, clearly. You don't belong here!_

With my anger, my body size swelled a small amount as I stood, glaring at him as if I were gazing down a barrel. As he spoke I could sense his aura of leadership, as if he were trying to impress that upon me. My wolf however, was having none of his bullshit. Just like the wolf aspect of me had said, shifters were nothing to me. When I glared I saw him falter, twitching just enough to take one pace backwards. "I will decide where I belong, Sam. Luck made you what you are, but fate made me. Fate put me in the Cullens path and yours as well, but you were too wrapped up in your tribal bullshit to recognize what was right under your nose. I suppose that's all well and good seeing as because of you, Jake in particular, I met the Cullens. You really want to know who I am? _Fine_!" I shouted with all the force of a wolf's howl. Sam quailed.

In a flourish I pulled my wolf skin back inside, my human side emerging blazing with anger. I planted my feet, my hands balled into fists, and my chin raised in defiance as I shouted, "Recognize me now?" My human voice rang out against the woods which echoed back only stunned silence.

Sam stared at me for a long moment, before turning and dashing back into the trees. As he did my old friends stumbled out one after another, hastily dressed and wide eyed. "Bella?" Leah asked, awestruck.

"No, Santa Claus!" I said, sneering at her.

"What the hell, Bella?" Jake asked, equally stunned. "It was _you_ who attacked us last night?"

I laughed a harsh laugh, and he flinched. "Excuse me, who attacked whom? My memory must be a bit foggy. And don't you 'what the hell' me, Black! I should be asking you the same thing, you have a fuck load more explaining to do than me."

If I had been human, I would not have had the reflexes to turn and grab Alice as she tried to zoom past me. Instead my strong arms latched around her waist and held her fast as she kicked and screamed, "So _you're_ the bastard that landed Bella in the hospital with a concussion and a hand shaped welt, huh? Bella let me go, I'm gonna kill him!"

Growls spread from the wolves still in the trees, but the newly shifted humans just stared at Jake with unconcealed anger and shock. "What is she talking about, Jake? You told us you pushed her, that's what it looked like in your memories." Leah asked, stalking up to him.

Jake had paled and took a few steps back, from his angry pack member and the angry vampire still struggling in my arms. "I- I-" He tried. "I didn't know it was that bad!"

Leah grabbed him by the collar of his t-shirt and pulled him forward a pace. "You _hit Bella?!_" She yelled in his face. "And hid it from the rest of us, even with the mind link?"

"You weren't even thinking about it, not even enough guilt for that?" Seth asked, through narrowed eyes. I examined him quickly, particularly the leg I had snapped last night but he seemed fine. I assumed the Shifters healed as fast as I did.

"I just lost my temper!" Jake said, flustered. "Bella, I'm so sorry, really! You know how hard it is when you first shift!"

I growled at him, something I had never done while human. It had a considerable effect on the wolves, one I didn't have time to consider. They all froze, even Sam, who was newly human and walking from the woods. They paled and turned their attention on me. "Don't presume that I am anything like you, Jacob Black. I'm no shifter, I'm a Lycan, and we don't shift for anger. There is no excuse for what you did to me and I will not forgive you."

"This changed nothing," Sam said, stalking from the woods, newly dressed. "You attacked us last night Bella, I can't let that stand."

I turned to him with a seething glare. "I don't care for your point of view, Ulley. Which party initiated the attack, do you remember?"

He didn't respond.

"I came to La Push to see if you assholes were the same as me, and instead I got ambushed by an entire pack. You're lucky I am what I am, or you all would have ripped me to shreds!" By the end of that sentence I was yelling, and I didn't stop there. "Consider that! You in all your righteous bigotry adopted an attack first, question later plan and if I _had_ been an enemy, your pack would be dead. If not for the past I share with a few of you, I would have killed you beyond a doubt." I let that sink into an entirely silent clearing. "Consider also that you, every single one of you, did not offer the same courtesy to me. So by all means, prance over here and tell me what I can and cannot do, what you will and will not let stand. See what happens," I snarled through clenched teeth.

"Bella, we didn't _know_," Jake said, nearly wailing.

"And that's an excuse?!" Alice hissed, still straining against my hold.

The wolves turned glares on her, causing me to growl, in turn causing their attention to snap back. I ran a soothing hand up and down Alice's arm, tying to calm her. "Alice, please, if you kill Jake his mess would be all over your lawn and I am positive Esme would make you clean it up all by yourself.. You really want that on your clothes? I'd do it myself if it were that important." At that, Alice went limp in my arms and rested back against me with a harrumph and a frown.

"Bella, why are you with these leeches?" Leah asked, staring warily at the Cullens. "Please, I know we don't deserve it, but give us a chance to redeem ourselves, we'll do anything! You were right to attack us last night, honestly I don't hold it against you. I would've done the same." Of all the things I expected when they learned the truth, an apology was not one of them. Unfortunately it did nothing to change my mind.

I growled once more, a savage ripping that shook my whole body. The wolves in front of me paled and stepped backwards, eying me with uncertainty. Later Alice would tell me my eyes had flashed a vivid, glowing amber. I wouldn't deny my joy that I could affect the shifters so, but that was something to contemplate at a later time. For now I growled out, "They are not leeches, Leah. They are, I am now realizing, a hundred times more decent than your 'pack,' who would throw away years of friendship for selfish, cultish purposes. And even implying that I would forget the pain you've all put me through and forsake my mate for your _pack_," I spat out the word, as it disgusted me, "is abominable."

"Mate?" Jake asked, stunned.

Alice hissed at him.

Sam burst out, "Bella, you can't be serious!"

I shoved Alice behind me and stalked forward until I was barely a foot away from him. With deadly malice I spat out, "Don't you _dare_ tell me what I can and can't do, Sam. Never again! You have no power over me, you're no alpha. You may call yourself that but we _both_ know you don't have the genes to back it up." How I knew this, I wasn't sure. My instincts were blazing. The layer of protection between Isabella and I was thinning by the second and I wondered briefly if I was going to lose control of her. "You and your pack are nothing but brutish, uneducated, narrow minded thugs with more bark than brains. I mean you no harm as long as you leave me the hell alone. But I will warn you right now, if I ever find so much as one shifter hair over the boundary, if any of your wolves ever harm a single Cullen, if any of you even _look_ at Alice wrong, I will decimate your pathetic pack entirely. If you think I'm bluffing, try me."

My old friends looked at me with a level of horror that could only have come from the fact that they had never seen me this way, and that they knew I meant every word. Sam fought through the shock. Though his limbs seemed to be weighed down with lead, he advanced until he stood only a foot away from me. He had the height advantage, but not by too much. His pack hadn't been the only ones to grow. "I will not stand by and allow threats to my pack, Bella." His voice was gravelly. He fought my commands, but just barely.

"Your narrow minded foolishness threatens my family as well, Sam. We're at an impasse, and I guess that's where the boundary line comes into play," I said through a clenched jaw. "Get out of here, Sam," I growled out. It was then that I realized the power of my other half, my gift, was begging to be channeled. In a loud, echoing voice booming with authority, I yelled out, "All of you, off our land, _now_!The next time we see you over the line, you'll be killed on sight," I growled out. I saw my friends try to fight my command and fail, their legs buckling as they burst into their wolf forms. They ran for the woods, throwing confused and hurt looks back at me. Sam was the strongest, being an alpha himself, but even he couldn't resist. On the inside I was reeling. Was I truly commanding them? If so, _how_?

"What about school," he ground out, fighting the pull.

"You have one way to get there, and one way to get home. School is neutral ground for both party's sakes, but outside of that no holds barred. Now get out of here!"

With a growl, Sam too burst into his wolf form and trailed his pack back to their land.

As soon as they were gone I sighed and flopped down onto the ground, resting my head in one of my hands. It hit me hard, that these were threats I was prepared to follow up on. Some small part of me, the memory of humanity, was horrified at the prospect of ending their lives, but I knew I lived in a new world now. That version of me existed when I only had a few more decades to live on this planet, when I would graduate high school and go to college and grow old. I knew the rules were different now and a threat to my immortal family was a threat to a future larger and greater than I could as of yet comprehend. How had so much changed so quickly? I felt the air move and heard the light footsteps as the other Cullen's approached. Alice wrapped her arms around my waist and I leaned into her. A soothing hand lit on my shoulder and I looked up to see Esme smiling down at me, eyes shinning with tears that couldn't fall. Emmett was beaming, Edward and Jasper looked pleased with me and even Rosalie cracked a small smile.

"You called us your family," Alice said lowly.

I felt a blush creep into my cheeks and coughed slightly. "Well, I mean, sort of. We've kind of got this whole bond thing going on," I joked, elbowing her slightly.

Alice giggled and leaned up to kiss my cheek.

Esme nearly squealed, but before she could say anything Carlisle asked, "How did you do what you did, Bella? Commanding the wolves, I mean."

I just shrugged and said, "I have no idea. It just felt right, like they were below me so I was entitled. I guess it's a wolf thing."

"Damn right!" Emmett boomed.

"Useful trick," Rosalie said with a smile.

I looked up at the dark sky overhead. When my eyes worked the way they did, it was harder to notice time passing aside from the hues, and in my defense I had been busy. "It's late, I really should get home. Charlie must be worried sick."

Alice sighed and clung tighter. "He's not worried, I can tell. He's happy you're spending time with others again."

I chuckled and said, "Sounds like him, but I still need to make the man dinner before he tries himself. He'll end up with something toxic every time."

Esme beamed and said, "I can whip up a casserole for you to take with you. You won't need to cook and we can have a bit more time to discuss everything."

"Speaking of discussing, Bella, why did Sam mention school?"

I bit my lip and said, "Didn't you know? The school on the Rez is being rebuilt, so Rez kids are going to be attending high school in town this year."

For a long time no one said anything. Finally, Rosalie broke the silence with, "Absolutely unacceptable. I'll build the damn school myself, brick by brick, but I will not spend my days in a building that wreaks of mutt."

"Wreaks?" I asked. "Do they smell bad to you all?"

Alice looked at me strangely. "Can't you smell it? Wet dog and garbage and mud, it's awful."

I just shrugged. They smelled fine to me. "Do I smell bad too, then?" I asked, suddenly self conscious.

"No, no, of course not," Alice said quickly. "Trust me, Rose would have told you if you did. You smell different from a human but not anything like the mutts. You're more..." She looked to her family and said, "I don't know, help me out here."

"Woodsy," Emmett said with a grin.

"Yeah, you smell kind of earthen," Edward said. "In a good way, though. Like meadow grass and summer."

I smiled, but Rosalie was ready to get our conversation back on track. "Carlisle, perhaps we could donate some money to the contractors, speed up construction. It's not safe for us, them, or the humans for our groups to come into close contact."

Carlisle frowned and said, "They wouldn't accept it. We could move again. You're right, it may not be a risk worth taking."

I did my best to hide a frown, but I couldn't hide the faintest of twitches. Alice noticed anyways. "I'm not going anywhere without Bella, and it's not fair to ask her to leave her hometown in her senior year. We'll deal, guys. It'll be a chance to prove that we really are better than them. Gym class will be a blast, I'm sure."

"We're going to need to hunt a lot more often," Edward said. "To help us keep our more... bestial sides calm."

"Speaking of, I could use a bite right about now," Emmett said. "I haven't eaten in a few days. Anyone want to come?"

Alice squirmed. "I really need to but I don't want to leave Bella here..."

Before anyone could reply to that my phone buzzed. I frowned down at my pocket and pulled it out. "Text from Charlie," I muttered, unlocking my cell so I could read it. I sighed. "He says he got called in to work some kind of bust in Port Angelas. He needs me to go home and help him pack an overnight bag while he picks up the case files from the station." I looked up to see Alice looking troubled. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just... I don't know, I didn't see the text coming. It's weird." She looked into my eyes like she was searching for something. Her fear made my gut twitch. The need to comfort her was strong.

I smiled at her and said, "Well, you mentioned it was hard to get visions of me, right? Maybe the more I settle into this wolf thing, some holes are going to come up. It's probably nothing."

Alice just sighed and looked away.

"Do you think something is going to happen?" Jasper directed his question at Alice even though he was eying me as Alice had, searching for some kind of hidden truth.

"I don't know. But I don't like it." Alice shook her head.

"I'm sorry," I said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be fine, Alice. It just need to help Charlie get ready. Go hunting and when I'm done I'll come find you, alright? Show you that everything is fine."

That seemed to cheer her up. She smiled and nodded. "Alright, I suppose."

I stood and offered her a hand, pulling her upward. She took an extra step towards me and wrapped her arms around my waist, a hug which I happily returned. I ignored her family's approving smiles in the hopes to ward off a blush.

When Alice stepped back she asked, "Do you want a ride?"

I smiled but said, "Thanks but I think I'm just going to run it. My wolf is still all riled up from the pack's idiocies. Besides running will be faster, and the sooner I finish the sooner I can come back."

Alice smiled and said, "I suppose that logic works for me. So what are you waiting for then? Scat! Go on, get!" She gave my shoulders a playful shove and I mock stumbled backwards.

I laughed and said, "See you guys in a bit, then."

"Bye, Bella!" they all called, or something to that effect.

I pulled my wolf's skin around me and dashed into the woods. The run home was short and uneventful, but I had my senses ranging nonetheless. The ground was damp and smelled of leaf litter, forest musk and animal trails. In my head I plotted the course of a herd of deer in my head, down the hill slope and along the river's bank. The soil under my paws compressed and shifted like four small embraces with every stride. I felt my own roots spreading through the world around me as the forest and I breathed each other in. The harmony I felt was incredible and unlike anything I had ever experiences. I felt like a link in an infinitely long and complex chain.

All too soon I spotted my house through the brush ahead. With a sad sigh I bid the forest farewell and pulled my human skin back over top of me. No car sat in the driveway so I guessed that Charlie had not yet returned. I smiled at the thought of the man and pushed my way into the house. No lights were on inside but that didn't matter to me. In the semi-darkness I made my way to the kitchen, opening the cabinets and pulling out a bag of coffee grounds. Charlie would probably appreciate a thermos to keep him awake and it could brew while I packed his things. After it was properly rigged I jogged up the stairs, taking them two at a time in my haste to return to Alice.

Charlie's duffel bag was where it had always been, on the top shelf of his closet. I pulled it down and set in on the bed, quickly loading up one nice button up, a casual shirt, nice and casual pants, pajamas, socks and a pair of (new) boxers. I zipped the bag just as I heard the coffee timer go off downstairs. I slung the bag over my shoulder and began making my way back downstairs. My mind was elsewhere, drifting to the Cullen mansion and reflecting over my new 'situation' with Alice, or then and there I probably would have noticed that something was wrong. Instead I went straight for the kitchen, plopped the bag down on the table and poured the coffee into a thermos for Charlie and even poured one for myself. I pulled a small note pad from the fridge, one we normally kept a grocery list on, and wrote him a small note: 'Coffee is fresh, better not fall asleep on the job, Chief! Good luck, see you when you get home.'

"You must really love him. Good. That's good." The voice was unexpected, making me jump a good few inches into the air. My control on my wolf slipped enough to let a growl through.

My head whipped up, and before me stood a woman I used to know. Her hair had more red in it than mine, but it was brunette nonetheless and fell to her shoulders. Her eyes used to be the same shade of brown as mine but now they were rimmed in red and lackluster. She was gaunt, and her face showed wear and tear. Her right cheek was scraped up. She wore a black coat and black pants and black shoes, which made her pale skin practically shine in the faint light of the room. It was my mother.

"Mom?" I gasped out, my voice strangled in shock and fright. I hadn't seen her in four years. More disturbingly, I hadn't smelled her when I came downstairs or heard her enter the house.

Her eyes flashed. "Not anymore. Does Charlie treat you well?" Her voice was raspy and quivery, with a fragile edge to it.

"What?" I asked, confused. Fear started to ebb into my body, a cold stone in my stomach.

"No matter," she went on. She advanced towards me with a quick gait, hands reaching up to grab me around the shoulders. "I'm sorry, child. Your father will be here to get you soon."

"Mom, what are you talking about? Why are you here, where have you _been_?" I asked, shrugging her hands of my shoulders, anger starting to compete with the fear.

Her eyes were dead and steely at the same time. She was looking at me, but she didn't seem to see. "Orders are orders, Isabella." In my shock, I couldn't block the knife.

She slid it from her sleeve with one hand and with the other grabbed my wrist. It cut into the flesh just below my palm and I cried out, yanking my hand from her grip. I stared at it for only a moment, watching as the red quickly started to drip onto the kitchen floor. It burned, first in a natural way and then on a deeper level. I felt the wound beginning to progress under my skin and the fire started to spread.

"What did you do to me?" I called out, looking up to where I had seen my mother last, but all I caught were the tails of her coat disappearing out the front door. "Renee!" I called out, and received no answer.

I stumbled to my feet, moaning because my head was fuzzy and my body was burning. It felt like I was shifting for the first time all over again. I heard faint screaming, but had no idea where it was coming from. The wailing grew louder and louder and it wasn't until I stepped out the front door in hopes to find my mother and wring the truth from her, found the yard empty, and collapsed to my knees that I realized it was coming from within my own mind. _Isabella_... I thought as my mind began to dim. The last thing I remembered was an explosive feeling, similar to me shifting but infinitely more painful, and a whimper. Then I blacked out.

* * *

Waking up was a slow and painful process. My head felt as if it were filled with bees. The buzzed and screamed and stung the swollen flesh of my mind. My limbs felt leaden and heavy, numb but burned. I felt as if I had been dipped in lava and pulled out at the last possible moment. I had no delusions of death, I distinctly remembered my mother cutting into me, but everything after that was wiped from my mind. I felt nothing below the cut on my wrist. Fearing the worst, my heart began to race and I took a deep breath, trying in vain to calm myself. What the hell _happened_?

I forced my eyes open and tilted my head upwards to glance around me. The scene was all too familiar. I lay on Alice's bed, rigged up to several silent machines, an IV in my uninjured arm. I let my head drop back down with a thump and a groan. The 'woosh' of moving air was immediate.

"Bella?" Alice's sweet voice filled my ears.

I tried to respond but my vocal chords protested. Instead I just coughed out a groan.

"Ssh, don't talk." In only a slightly louder voice she called out, "Esme? Can I get a glass of water for Bella?" The faucet downstairs turned on almost instantly, and only seconds later Esme stood beside her.

I tried for it with my IV'd hand, which was obviously restricted, then with my injured hand, which appeared to me fully encased in gauze. Alice smiled down at my pathetic attempt and carefully took the glass from Esme. With one hand she tilted my head upward and with the other she brought the glass to my lips. I drank the whole thing. With a gasp I swallowed the last of it and Alice lay my head back down.

"Bella, how do you feel?" Esme asked.

I coughed once more before responding in a raspy voice, "Like I was hit by a truck. What happened? After I blacked out, I mean. I remember my mother slicing me up."

Alice's eyes swirled until they were darker than a moonless night sky. "Is that what happened?"

I remembered that her visions were on the fritz and that they were probably clueless. "I came home to an empty house. I made Charlie a thermos of coffee and packed him a bag. When I came down to write him a good bye note, she was waiting for me. She looked... awful." I choked momentarily at the memory of her, but pushed through. "She said a bunch of weird things to me, too. Then she grabbed my arm and cut me with a knife. It burned horribly, slowly, and it spread. I blacked out on the front porch. And now I'm here. What happened?" My strength faded as I spoke, until my sentences were short and clipped. I took a few deep breaths.

Alice was breathing as heavily as I was, only from anger instead of fatigue.

Instead, Esme attempted to answer me. "Well, Alice was-"

"I knew something was wrong," Alice said through gritted teeth. "So I got the others and we followed you. I never saw her enter the house but I saw her leave. And then you followed and we all smelled your blood. Before we could do anything you... shifted."

I felt myself pale.

She had more than that, though. "Emmett, Jasper, and Edward immediately tried to get you into the woods but they couldn't. You took off before they could restrain you. Rose called Carlisle flat out and I went after you."

This was getting worse and worse. I brought my free hand up to my mouth, trying to hide the horror I know my eyes betrayed.

"The boys were battered and only Jasper could come with me-"

"Are they okay?" I broke in. "Emmett and Edward?"

"They're fine now. They went hunting and were patched up quickly." She pushed on. I got the sense that this was as hard for her to talk about as it was for me to hear. The anger in her eyes was fading to sympathy and I sensed something horrible looming on the horizon. "You took off. You kept to the edges of town but I think at least three pedestrians caught at least a glimpse of you. Nothing concrete though, so don't worry."

"Did I hurt anyone?" I asked, my voice shaking, dread filling my chest and panic chasing away the remaining sluggishness.

They were silent.

"_Did I hurt anyone?_" I reiterated harshly.

Alice looked down at her hands. "You came across one person out with their dog. Just a young dog. It was pretty late, I think she was out walking it before she went to bed."

"Oh my god. Is she okay? Who was it, do you know?" My eyes began to fill with tears. Several spilled over and ran down my cheeks, burning hot against my bloodless face. I started to shake.

"She's... she's still alive. Carlisle is with her at the hospital now. They're calling it an animal attack of some sort. She was unconscious when I saw her last, but I could still hear her heart beating. I couldn't stay long though, there was a lot of.. uhm..." she trailed off. _There was a lot of blood_, I thought to myself, completing the sentence she didn't want to say.

"Who was it Alice. I can see it in your eyes, it's going to hurt me. Just tell me, please."

She looked at me with tears in her eyes, ones I knew couldn't fall, and her voice when she did speak was only a whisper. "Angela Weber."

**A/N: BAZINGA! Eh? EH? Did ya see that coming?! Duh duhn DUHNN! Mwaha. That was fun. I'm taking this places, I have all these lovely ideas swirling around in my head. Oh, you fine folks are in for a ride! This is fun. Alright. Moving on!**

**SHOUTOUTS!**

**VICIOUSVIOLET: That's soo awesome for an author to hear, I can't even tell you xD I hope The Joys of Lycanthropy can move up spaces as time goes on, maybe? Any chance I could get that list, I'm always looking for new fics to read!**

**GUEST from 3/5: Really? I didn't know they had all three bloodlines... HUH! Maybe something to work with there! Awesome, thanks for the info my anonymous friend! ^^**

**THEMADDHATTER19: I haven't decided if the Volturi are gonna butt their wrinkly old noses in Bella's business yet, so ya never know if that's going to be a bad thing or not. I might have some fun with that, but I'm not certain yet.**

**SKALD OF FREYA: I'm glad I have your vote of confidence! I'm going to try and keep it fluffy, even if things are momentarily taking a turn for the serious.**

** MICHAEL VANDEBROEK: Hmm, I don't know about Jessica. She kind of gets on my nerves, both in the books and in the movies, soo... That's a stretch xD**

**OWL90: Thank you for the kind words! It's a big goal of mine to build up a reputation on here. I've always wanted to be one of those authors who it's like you see their username and you immediately go "Oh my god yes, must read, this is their work, I must have it." I have a ways to go, but I'm glad you're maybe on the way to that? :P That is totally awesome. I'm geeking out a little bit, not gonna lie.**

**Alright guys! I got thirty reviews for this fic in two days which is absolutely astronomically wonderful. I literally cannot even begin to express how amazing my wonderful reviewers are! I am so grateful to you all, every time I pull up the review page I can't help but to smile. You write such lovely things (: I'm writing this story for you all and trying to make each chapter better than the last as a 3,000+ word thank you note! You are all ASTOUNDINGLY AMAZING IN EVERY SINGLE WAY! I LOVE YOU ALL! **

_**E-cookies for ALL!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Heyyy folks! Sorry for the longer wait on this one, this chapter was harder to write. I've just been off all week, so it was tough to pump out. I hope it's okay anyways? Sorry if I disappoint. This is kind of filler before some big drama next chapter (:**

_ She looked at me with tears in her eyes, ones I knew couldn't fall, and her voice when she did speak was only a whisper. "Angela Weber."_

My ears began to ring. Panic welled up so far in my throat that I started to retch. Alice flashed to the bathroom of her room and came back with a waste bin just in time for me to deposit the meager contents of my stomach inside. Between the less than rhythmic heaving of my stomach, I began to sob. It shook through my battered body and I was too weak just them to fight them off. Tears blinded me, so hot and acrid that Alice's cool fingers on my cheek shocked me even further. I flinched away, trying to bring my hands up to my face. The IV twinged and I growled, yanking my arm so that the needle snapped off in my hand, but freed me. I heard Esme's small gasp but I didn't care. I had mauled my closest human friend and I couldn't remember anything.

"Bella, it'll be okay, really." Alice's words were empty and I knew she doubted that as much as I did.

I shook my head, sobs and heaves still coming in waves. If there were ought else in my gut I was certain it would have been upended by now, my disgust was strong enough.

"Do you want us to go?" Alice asked, even quieter.

I paused for a moment, then shook my head again. The numb encasing me was beginning to fade as I was brought further and further into consciousness, and I was starting to miss it's presence. Inch by inch I was starting to realize that I was covered in scratches and bruises and lacerations. My cut arm began to throb in time with my quickened, irregular heartbeat. "What is g-going to happen to her?" I forced out in as level of a tone as possibly could.

"She will live," a new voice answered me, having just entered the room. It was Edward, though I didn't bother opening my eyes. "Don't worry about that. She was scratched up and has a bite wound on her right shoulder, but was given blood transfusions and Carlisle himself stitched her up. She'll live, I promise."

I soaked in the raw information. My head spun with the situation and I was having a hard time even telling up from down. Words pounded through me and I vaguely felt a muted distress that wasn't my own. My thoughts chanted: _I mauled my best friend. I attacked her. I mauled her. I am a monster._ The repetition was slowly driving me mad. "And will she... become, I mean..." I couldn't even force out the words. I grabbed for the waste bin and began retching once more.

Edward waited until I had finished to answer. "We're not sure yet. Carlisle says not all of those bitten did." He was holding something else back, I could tell by the tone in his voice.

"They recovered?" I asked him.

He was silent, and I suppose that was my answer.

Sobs began racking my body once more. "So that's that, then? It's her life or her humanity?"

"Bella, we've all had to make that choice," a new voice broke in. Rosalie had come to join us. The room was beginning to feel a bit crowded, but I kept that to myself seeing as she was only leaning against the door frame. She wore a bright scarlet sweater and the look of it against Alice's yellow walls was enough contrast to make my head take up a dull ache. I just wanted to leave. "And it's not an easy one. But I don't think there's a person here who would rather take their life instead of living as something other than human."

"But at least you have the choice!" I said through gritted teeth. "I took that away from her. I'm a monster," I whispered, clenching the quilted bed cover in my fists.

"In time, she will forgive you. Just as all of us have forgiven Carlisle, even if at first we hated him for what he had done." Rosalie was persistent, her voice calm. No one else in the room seemed to want to speak. Alice had walked around to the other side of the bed with a rag in her hand and began fiddling with mine. It wasn't until I looked down that I noticed my blood had been dripping onto her covers from where I broke the needle off under my skin.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to her, contrite within my self-loathing.

Her cool hand brushed against my cheek for just a second, forgiveness and infinite compassion shining her her eyes, but she said nothing as Rosalie had begun to speak again. "Carlisle found me at the tail end of a bad relationship and an even worse beating. I was left to bleed out in the streets when he found me and took pity on my broken body. He bit me and cared for me through the transformation but when I woke, I hated him. All I had wanted to do for the past three agonizing days was die. Instead I woke with nothing but horrible memories, a burning thirst, and any thought of the future I had always dreamed of ripped away from me. No children, no family, I couldn't even have the sunlight. And I hated him for it."

I couldn't say anything. Knowledge of her true past had stunned me.

"But then I found Emmett, and suddenly I was happy again. Eternity didn't seem so bleak, then. Angela will survive, but she'll need your help. I've come to enjoy my existence and if it hadn't been for Carlisle, I wouldn't have lived to see this day. So _man up_." I sensed her speech was taking a turn. "You can't change the past, you can only hope to affect the present and if you're lucky, the future. It's your choice, but I think pulling yourself together and trying to help your friend the best you can is your best bet."

I nodded, thinking for a long moment while the present Cullen's watched me like hawks. Finally I turned to Alice and asked, "Can we go see her?"

Alice beamed. "Of course. Let's go."

I was quickly disentangled from the various monitors and pulled onto my feet. The room around me spun. Alice and Esme were at my side in an instant to help hold me up. "Jesus, what did she do to me?" I asked, my voice weak and paper thin. "I can barely stand up."

"We're not sure," Edward said with a frown. "There was something on that knife from the smell of that cut. You're bandaged because you're not healing properly, or as you should be. It's slower, only slightly faster than a normal human would heal. You'll scar, too."

When I had my footing Alice and Esme stepped away from me. "That's sucks. All of this is so confusing and messed up." A belated thought struck me and my jaw dropped. "Charlie! Oh my god, is he okay? Renee didn't do anything to him, did she?"

"No, don't worry Bella, he's safe," Alice answered quickly, rubbing a soothing hand against my back. "Esme and Rose watched him all night to be sure."

"He knows I'm here, though?" I asked.

"Yeah, I kind of sent him a text from your phone saying you were staying the night here," Alice said, sheepish. "This morning Carlisle called and said you and I were up late and were sleeping in, so you're in the clear there."

I let out a deep breath and nodded. "Right, okay, that's good. Let's get going, then."

After being carried down the staircase bridal style by Alice (which I'm sure looked hilarious, but after nearly face planting on the second step, she insisted) we all piled into Emmett's jeep. I told them they didn't need to come, that I was sure they had better things to do, but Edward said it was for my safety in case anything happened. A.K.A., if I shifted again. Apparently Emmett and Jasper were watching over my dad, and I asked Alice to send them quick thank you texts to them from me.

Esme drove to the hospital while Rosalie, Edward, and Alice questioned me about my mother, my father, Angela, and my past.

"She left right before my freshman year," I said, shrugging. "This was the first I've heard from her since then. I have no idea what she's gotten herself into."

"But she knew where you'd be, she must have been keeping tabs on you," Edward said. I had filled them in on the specifics as we left the house: what I had said to her and her to me, what she had looked like, what she had been wearing. "And there was something off about that knife obviously, so she knew how to affect you. She traveled without us detecting her. It doesn't make much sense."

"You said there were others of your kind in Europe, right Bella?" Rosalie asked with a frown.

"Yes," I replied, confused.

"Is there any chance she's been with them all this time? Maybe she's more involved than you think. That would explain a few things, like where she's been and how she had so much intel."

That hit me like a ton of bricks. Could it be true? It was a good explanation, but I didn't want to even entertain the idea that my mother had kept this from me all this time. "But if she was with them, she would have _known_ what I was, she would have told me! She would have at least taken me with her," I said, forlorn. It felt like betrayal. Why would she leave me behind?

"Maybe she didn't know, Bella," Alice said, laying her cold hand atop mine. I clasped our fingers together, grateful for the comfort. "It could be something utterly different. You never know, even if she was with them maybe she was working in your best interests. We don't know the whole story and it won't do you any good to dwell on it until you do."

I nodded, sighing. The hospital loomed up ahead. We passed through the doors unassailed, even getting friendly waves from some of the staff. I guessed that the Cullens were frequent visitors, based on the reactions from the nurses and other doctors. We rode the staff elevator up to the fourth floor, but beyond that I was lost. I was walking in a dull haze. My senses were just acute enough to be overwhelming but I didn't have the mental faculties to sort through them or make sense of them. My body was still the advanced creature I had become, but the connection between my mind and my wolf seemed fuzzy which made things more difficult.

Finally we came to a small waiting room, just a few tables and chairs beside four rooms, two on each side. The chairs were filled, I realized belatedly, by people I knew. Kids from school, all the ones from my group, were there. I wasn't sure what surprised me more, seeing these very human-like humans when I had been enshrouded by the supernatural for the past week, or the fact that both Jessica and Lauren (who didn't actually really like Angela) had bothered showing up at all. On the left of the room sat Ben Cheney, Angela's boyfriend of three years being poorly comforted by Eric Yorkie and Mike Newton. Jessica Stanley sat on Mike's other side, trying to grab his attention by being overly sweet to Ben and watching Mike from the corner of her eyes. Lauren sat on Jessica's free side, face buried in the latest edition of 'People' magazine.

Edward murmured, "I just texted Carlisle, he'll be here to show us in in just a moment."

As he spoke their heads came up. I saw surprise written over all their faces at seeing four beautiful vampires maybe for the first time, and then greater surprise when their eyes found mind and they realized it was me among them.

"_Bella?_" Mike asked, astounded. My senses may have been dulled, but I could smell his arousal and hear Alice's immediate but low growl forming in her throat.

"Hey, Mike," I said. "Hey guys. Have you seen her yet?" I didn't have time for his puppy love today.

Ben stood up too and walked up to me. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him in a quick hug, being careful of my injured hand. "Hey Bells," he said, his voice choked with tears he refused to let fall. "No, we can't go in just yet. Only her parents were allowed in, but you just missed them. They left like ten minutes ago."

"Bummer," I said sincerely. I would have like to offer them condolences. "I'll give them a call later, I promise. I swing by. Her brothers must be..." I just trailed off, shaking my head.

"They were with them," Eric offered up from the chairs, "By Mrs. Weber wouldn't let them see her. I've never seem them that... I don't know, quiet. I'm not surprised though. When her parents came back out they were white as ghosts."

"I hope they find whatever animal did this to her and fucking shoot it in the head," Ben snarled under his breath, choked with anger and sadness.

My throat closed and my heart rate began to speed up. I know I paled, I felt the blood rush from my face. _That animal is standing right in front of you,_ I thought. _I'm a monster_.

"It's okay, dude," Mike said, gently punching his shoulder as boys were wont to do. "Bella's dad is on the job, and Chief Swan has never let Forks down before."

_My father is out hunting me?_ I thought, unable to speak. _How ironic._

Ben nodded and looked back up at me, red and sleepless eyes shining with excess moisture. "Yeah. Thanks, Bells," he said as if my father's success was somehow entwined with my existence.

I could only nod.

"So Bella, are you going to introduce us?" Lauren asked loudly, in a sweet voice. She and Jessica both had eyes on Edward, attention to the situation having been completely diverted.

"Uhh," I rasped up, throat still too tight for words. I looked back at the Cullens and saw every pair of eyes on me and bright with worry and sadness. I coughed and said, "Sure. These are the Cullens, they just moved here at the start of the summer. I've been hanging with them these past two weeks. Esme is married to Carlisle, Angela's doctor." Esme smiled and waved. "And these are three of their adopted children, Alice, Rosalie, and Edward." Alice waved, Edward nodded, but Rosalie just stood there.

Esme turned to look at me and said, "I'm going to go find Carlisle, give you kids some time to chat." I smiled and nodded and she left.

I turned from the Cullens to the kids, starting over again. "And these are my friends from school. Ben here is Angela's boyfriend. Eric and Mike are the guys of the group, and then those two are Jessica and Lauren. They're all going to be seniors this year, just like us."

Like a broken spell Mike, Lauren, and Jessica advanced. Mike sidled up to Rosalie and Alice, and Jessica and Lauren advanced on Edward.

I heard Jessica vaguely commending Edward for his kindness in coming to see their ailing friend and Lauren asked if he were planning to become a doctor like his father had. My full attention, however, was focused on Mike and his interest in the girls.

He went first to Rose, full to the bursting with what I'm sure he thought was irresistible charm. "So you're going to be a senior? Hey, me too. It's nice to meet you, I'm Mike Newton." He put forward a hand and a baby faced, white toothed smile.

Rose looked first at his poorly gelled hair then his grimy fingernails, then back to him and said, "Nice to meet you," but didn't shake his hand.

Mike was not so easily deterred. "How are you liking Forks so far? I know it's small but there are some nice little places hidden around. I could show 'em to you, if you want. You free Friday?"

He had balls, I'll give him that.

Rosalie's disinterested gaze turned into a glare. "I'm taken," was all she said. She pulled out her phone and lit up the lock screen, which I knew to be a picture of a very shirtless Emmett. She waved it in Mike's face, close enough that he had to lean backwards and uncross his eyes to see it properly. "You have an issue with that, you can take it up with him," Rosalie sneered.

Mike blinked but said no more to her, only side stepped so that he stood in front of Alice. "Well, looks like I'm free on Friday still, any chance you'd like to help me out?" Clearly Rosalie's quick put down had rattled him.

Alice rolled her eyes and looked to me, just shrugging forlornly and shaking her head. When she returned her attention to Mike's still hopeful face, she sighed and said, "You're barking up the wrong tree here, sorry."

His eyes took on a begging light and he practically whined out, "Aw, come on, give me a chance!" _Rattled indeed,_ I thought with slight malice.

My wolf twitched despite the disconnect. I wondered how much worse it would be if not for last night's events as I wrapped my arm around Alice's shoulders. "C'mon Mike, lay off, she's not interested. Take Jessica out if you want plans so badly."

He cast a glance at Jessica who was currently fawning over Edward and frowned. "But-"

Ben broke in before he could advance further. "So Bella, I'm really glad you're here but Ange isn't being allowed any visitors right now, you know."

I smiled a weak smile and said, "I've got pull with Dr. Cullen. She's my best friend, I need to see how she's doing. I'll let you know how she is Ben, I won't sugar coat anything if that's what you want."

To my surprise he actually looked really relieved. "Yeah. Yeah, that'd be great Bella. You know, even if I was allowed in I don't know if I could." His voice dropped to little more than a whisper and he said, "I'm so scared for her."

"I know," I said, voice choking again and eyes filling. "Me too Ben, more than you know."

As I drew back, Ben noticed my bandaged hand. "Oh jeez, Bells. Did the Klutz Monster strike again or what?"

I tried to smile, but it came out only as a grimace. Memories flooded me and my heart rate sped right back up again. Luckily, footsteps drew our attention away as Carlisle and Esme rounded the corner. Carlisle smiled at the kids and then to me said, "Hello, Bella. I can take you in now, if you're ready?"

I looked to Ben and he smiled and nodded so I turned to Carlisle and did the same.

I was hyper aware of my friends eyes on my back as I disappeared into the room. Part of me wondered what they were thinking but I didn't have the courage to ask Edward. They weren't long on my mind, not after I took stock of what was in front of me.

Angela was not responsive, and for good reason. The only parts of her body that I could see were her right leg and her left hand from mid arm down; the rest was swathed in bandages. Her face was mostly obscured as well aside from her right eye and cheek. Thankfully, her eye was closed in a deep sleep. For all that the bandages were clean, the stench of blood and rot and _me_ was strong. I smelled myself, my other body, all over her and that was when I fell to the floor. Alice was there to catch me of course, but instead of propping me up she sat down with me. My sobs came hard and heavy, shaking through me.

"I know this must be traumatic Bella, but everything we know of modern medicine tells us that she'll make a full recovery. There may be some scarring, but-" Carlisle was trying to comfort me but I cut him off.

"I can smell myself in her blood," I moaned, desolate.

"What?" Edward asked, caught off guard.

"I can smell myself in her body, my scent is inside her. She's going to turn into a- a-" I couldn't choke it out.

Silence, then, "But she won't die, at least," Rosalie said.

"Is that any better?" I spat out. Anger for myself clouded my vision as much as the tears did.

"Would you rather be dead than what you are?" The harsh words came, surprisingly, from Alice.

I looked to her in surprise, unable to respond.

She went on. "Would you wish the same fate upon yourself? To be dead rather than what you were born as?" Her words were accusatory and hurt. "If you were dead you would never have met us. Charlie would be all alone. You wouldn't have a group of friends out there waiting for you, no memories of good times, or the bad. You would rather be that than a strong, beautiful, powerful creature. You have a _gift_ Bella!"

My sobs had cut off with my shock, but my voice still quivered. "That 'gift' caused me to maul someone, Alice. Someone innocent, my _friend_."

"Did your gift do it? Or did your mother? Have you forgotten the catalyst of all this? I refuse to let you blame yourself for someone else's actions. You're not the monster here." She left the rest hanging, but understood. I wasn't the monster, my mother was. And I wasn't sure that was better.

Edward broke in next. "Believe what you will, but none of us can see you as monsters. Not us. You've got nothing on us. Everyone here aside from Carlisle has killed dozens of people, Bella. Even Alice. Even Esme. We killed them for a meal, and you call yourself a monster? Angela will recover and become stronger than ever."

I looked at all of them, weighing that. Each and everyone held a burning shame deep in their eyes, but stoney expressions.

"Cross the bridge of explaining things to her when that time comes," Esme said softly. "But for now she needs support and good thoughts. And so do you. This too will pass."

I stared at the cold linoleum tiles below me for a long moment before taking a deep breath and nodding. "Okay. Okay, I'll try." I looked to Carlisle and asked, "So what do we do? When will she wake, when do you think she'll shift for the first time?"

Carlisle sighed and looked at the monitors, seeming to think. "I'd wager that she will wake tomorrow sometime, based on her heart rate. She's not in too deep, and if she's like other patients I've seen, that would be my best guess. Two more days at the most. Beyond that, who knows. If she's like you, she will heal rapidly once the fevers start and shift soon after. That will be our warning sign."

I sighed. "Right. Well... I'm gonna need those books you talked about. The Volturi's?"

Carlisle smiled and nodded. "Of course. I'll contact Aro and arrange it."

I looked back to Angela and my mind began to clear, and as such it began to race. Thoughts began pouring back through me in the accelerated way they had been ever since I first shifted. The final traces of my mother's poison seemed to be fading away. I dug deep, prodding at my senses and felt Isabella stir within me. I flexed my wrist but it still ached as half healed wounds did. My best friend sat before me half mauled and I had a lot of work to do before she woke up.

As we left, I explained to Ben how things looked to me. I told him that Angela was sleeping and was pretty well banged up, but that Carlisle knew she would be fine. I told him I had full confidence that she would come out stronger than before, cringing at the reality of it. I told Carlisle as we were leaving that he was a good kid and any extra help he could give would mean a lot to me. Ben and Angela had been together for three years, since the summer before our freshman year and I believed that they truly loved one another. He would need the support not only from his friends, but from the doctor who was taking care of her. Carlisle agreed.

Back at the house I threw myself into research. To my delight Esme and Rosalie volunteered to search the internet while Edward and Alice helped me dig out some old records Carlisle had tucked away in the shelves of his library about the Volturi history, specifically the purging of the Children of the Moon. We leafed through, looking for any accounts about Lycans and found only two passages of any worth. One record spoke of a pack of Lycans exterminated in France where apparently something went awry and half the pack escaped, and several were never seen again. (The erring vampires had been exterminated, the author gleefully transcribed.) The second passage wrote of a lone Lycan who traded the secrets of other packs for his life. He brought about the destruction of four packs of Lycans and three of Children of the Moon, then mysteriously disappeared half a decade later. Rose and Esme had a similar lack of success in that the internet turned up little more than fairy tales and ghosts of half-rumors.

By the time Emmett and Jasper returned I was all but exhausted and it was just past noon. As soon as the boys walked in the door I jumped to my feet, mouth opening to vent out apologies and beg their forgiveness but Emmett just grinned and cut me off. "You've got a mean shoulder check, Bellzy. Coming from someone who likes to throw their weight around, you get total cool points for it, not gonna lie."

I was so caught off guard it gave Jasper a chance to throw in his two cents as well. "Yeah, still a little rusty though. We're going to have to work on that."

"Jasper, I said no training until she's more settled into all of this!" Alice said from the couch, disgruntled.

"Wait. You're not... mad?" I asked, flabbergasted.

Emmett scoffed and waved the notion off. "Are you kidding me? The only thing we need to do to heal is stick our pieces back together and go feed, then we're good as new again. See?" He punched himself in the shoulder then grinned. "Completely healed."

"So what happened last night, Bella?" Jasper asked, walking me back to the couch and sitting me down next to Alice, with him on the other side. Emmett moved in too and once again I recounted the course of events. Alice, Edward, Rosalie, and Esme threw in their bits and as they finished Carslie's car rolled into the drive.

"Must've come home for a lunch break," Esme said with a smile.

Carlisle strode through the front door with a smile on his face and to me said, "Well I spoke with Aro, and he agreed to put the task of finding what we need to the helpers, and he said he could have the tomes shipped out in the next few days."

"I hope you came up with a good excuse," Alice said warily. "It sounds pretty suspicious, you know. 'Hey, can we borrow some books about werewolves. Lycans in specific? Just for some light reading?' We don't want to raise and questions."

Carlisle gave hr a dry yet amused smile. "I'm hurt Alice, have you no faith in me? Aro loves Edward, he was my scapegoat. I told him Edward had taken up an interest in the other parts of our hidden world, and that I'd done all I could to educate him with what we had, but the books and lores we had were poorly lacking. Aro happily agreed to help out in this area. I think he assumed Edward was taking an interest in the Volturi itself."

I shrugged. "Whatever gets the job done, I guess."

Edward nodded. "I agree. We have a lot to do before Angela wakes up, we're all going to need to help out. I may not be able to see the future, but I have a feeling things are about to get even weirder around here."

**A/N: So, yeah. Kind of filler-y. Poor Angie, right? ): I'm sorry, it had to be done. But she's gonna become a Lycan so that's cool, right? What do you guys think about Ben becoming one too? :D Maybe yes? Maybe no? (Maybe she goes Lycan and then finds out her soul mate is someone else (Jasperrrrr maybe? Or Maggie from the Irish coven?) and then has to break it off with Ben? Hmmm... Let me know what you think!)**

**SHOUTOUTS!**

**RUAITAE: Patience dear Ruaitae, patience (: All will be reveal in time!**

**COUNTINGNUMBERS: Not a vampire, but not quite human either. You'll see! Eventually! She definitely has a background story (and an extensive one at that, I actually think I might need to simplify it a bit.) As for what she did, you'll find out eventually!**

**VICIOUSVIOLET: That would be awesome! You totally should, I love uncovering new fics! And your faith in me is just as wonderful (:**

**SKALD OF FREYA: You always leave such wonderful long reviews, on every chapter, and I honestly look forward to reading yours because you never fail to give support and constructive criticism, which I really really appreciate. Just so you know! Okay, so, touching on your raised points: I decided to make her alpha sense span because I'm going to establish a sort of hierarchy between shifters of the world (I'm planning on bringing CotM in too, and probably some other Lycan types too... but ssh, don't tell anyone, it's a secret ;D) Lycans are pretty bad ass, and the shifters are going to be kind of lower down. Leah was indeed remorseful because she will have to be redeemed fully eventually to get with a Denali. I plan these things (to a certain extent) but I'm trying to be more subtle with it. Is it working? I'm glad I can still blindside some of you, I just hope that's a good thing! Next chapter is going to reveal a lot when the Volturi's books come in, a lot of things will be answered, including exactly what Renee did to Bella. Aaannd as far as Angela, see?! She'll be okay. Y'know. Maybe. It'll all work out eventually! Any recommendations you have as far as other stories go would be super appreciated! Inspiration helps keep me writing, so it's good for everyone involved! Thank you for your faith in my writing, it means a lot to me seeing as you're a regular to this story, your words mean a lot to me! I hope to continue quality writing, as long as there are people around to read it (:**

**HOPE6968: I'm clad you enjoyed your cookies! The mom thing will be explained eventually, I promise! This isn't the last time we'll see Mumsy Swan! And puh shaw, I'm glad you're here now1 I looked forward to your reviews, they're always so kind (: I'm trying to churn these out pretty rapidly for the sakes of people like you!**

**AU3: Such kind words, I really appreciate them! I honestly, honestly do. I'm the kind of author who is completely fueled by my reader's approval and ideas. You guys keep me going, and hearing things like this keep me wanting to write every day I get home from school keep me brainstorming plot ideas when I should be doing more important things :P **

**Alright guys, that's it for now! I gotta say, we had about ten less reviews this chapter than we have had in the last six, but I mean hey. It happens. I just hope I'm not losing you guys? It's one thing to have viewers but I want to write stories that leave enough impression that people want to talk about them, or at least offer their opinions because those are the ones that stick (: I won't beg for reviews, I won't set a review quota for updates, but it would mean a lot to me if you all let me know what you think. I mentioned last chapter that I aspire to becoming one of the epic authors, and part of that is writing a story with more than 1,000 reviews, in my personal opinion. Help me make it happen? (: I love you all, I hope you liked the chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm back! Spring hiatus is over and done with (: To reward you all for your patience, I present you with the longest chapter yet! We're scooting right along with the plot development here, answering some questions before big action next chapter!**

I spent the night at the Cullen's residence that night. Charlie, while doing his best to console me over the phone, was not one for face to face confrontations about delicate things and was more than happy to hand that torch over to the Cullens. Not much sleep was had and not for the reasons I would have preferred. (Alice lent me a skimpy tank top and very small cloth shorts as pajamas, wearing similar things herself, reminding me that we were very much soul mates and that she was very, very attractive.) Instead, we stayed up as a group, brainstorming what we were going to do about the situations popping up all around us.

Carlisle warned me that Angela was not going to have the same innate abilities that I did. She wouldn't shift as easily or have the control or prowess that I did and as such would have to be taught. Jasper brought up that it would probably help if I knew what I was doing in the first place which while it earned him a reprimand from Esme I couldn't help but agree. I was woefully unprepared to teach anyone anything, because I didn't know anything myself. I could only pray the vampire council would put a rush order on those books, for Angela's sake. The less I knew, the harder Angela's transition would be.

Furthermore, tension was rising between the pack and I. The members were restless among themselves and I was still standing at the ready to defend my promises to them. I was anxious to run a border patrol, a felt as if the wolf in me was pacing in frustration and as if I had been shirking my responsibility to my territory, but Alice insisted it was more important tonight that we sort out the issues before us. Graciously Emmett, Jasper, and Esme volunteered to go instead, which I thanked them profusely for. They returned with nothing to report before we were off the topic of the wolves.

"All I'm saying is that Sam is both reckless and headstrong, and Bella's history with the pack could force Jake to take action. If a change in leadership occurs, if could change everything." Edward said with a frown.

"Do you think he would insist on having a cordial relationship with Bella?" Rose asked the group, but I was the only one who could really answer.

"Jake is just as stubborn as Sam, probably more so. I don't see him easily letting this go. Right now I just don't have the spare time to deal with them, not with Angela soon to be under my wing. I don't know how in the world I'm going to keep up normal appearances with Charlie. Eventually he _will_ notice that I'm never around, that could cause problems in of itself."

Edward seemed thoughtful, then asked, "Bella, have you considered telling him what you are?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair because I had, several times before bed and when I watched him from across the dinner table, whenever I did make it home. "It would make things easier and I hate lying to him, but I can't help wondering if it would be dangerous to bring him into this world. He's stoic but static at the same time. He doesn't like shocks to his system and the fact that vampires and werewolves lurk in the shadows would probably give him a complex. So I don't know. It will depend on whether or not he makes mention of my weird behavior."

"It would probably benefit you to have a plan, just in case," Jasper said.

I nodded, agreeing, and promising myself to think on it.

"What are we going to do about school?" Emmett asked.

So on and so forth we talked until the wee hours of the morning, and which point I was a yawning wreck. Alice half carried me upstairs and I fell into her soft bed with a lust for sleep I had never felt before. She crawled in beside me and wrapped her arms around my waist, and her cool breath made my head start to buzz as if I were drunk. And I was, a little bit. I was drunk on Alice.

"I was so proud of you today, Bella. You're handling this like a real Alpha."

I shrugged lazily and leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "It's getting easier. My shock is starting to wear off and my wolf is recovering from whatever my mother did to me. The more presence she has within me, the easier it is to think and act the way an alpha should."

"How's your wrist feel?" She asked, concern hiding deep in her voice.

We had taken the bandages off when Carlisle's shift ended, revealing a shiny pink scar with some sort of dark green webbing, nearly black, extending a centimeter or two from it's edges. It still ached and was both numb and warm to the touch, but was slowly healing. "A little better. If Isabella speaks to me tonight, I'll ask her about it."

Alice smiled in the darkness and said, "You better get to it then. You've had a long day."

I chuckled and said, "I've had a long _month_."

"Oh, shush," Alice chuckled back and held me a little tighter. I drifted to sleep quickly and easily, like slipping into a pool of cool water.

Isabella did indeed come to me, but something was still off. I expected no less and was unsurprised, if a bit disoriented. My vision was fuzzy and her voice was faint. Our clearing had been enshrouded in fog and all I could make out of her at any given time were her rapidly shifting eyes and even they seemed to dart around.

"There you are..." she said, her voice faint. "I couldn't seem to..."

"We were ambushed by my mother," I informed her. She seemed dazed. "Are you okay? Do you know what they did to us?"

I felt her anger lash out like a whip, but not for the reason I would have guessed. "Never say 'us' again." Her voice was oddly clear with her anger. "We are not us. You, are you. We are one."

I was taken aback and recoiled from her tone, eyes narrowing. "Fine, then. What did she do to me?" I asked, startled by her rebuke.

As her anger faded, so did her voice. "Wolfsbane..."

"What is wolfsbane?" I asked. I was ignorant but the word raised gooseflesh on my arms nonetheless.

I don't know if she couldn't hear me or if she just ignored me, but either way I did not receive an answer. Instead she asked, "What of the girl?"

"Angela?"

"Hmm..." she hummed drunkenly, and I took that as confirmation.

"She's fine. She's going to become a Lycan as well, I think." I paused and when she didn't answer continued with, "I'm very scared for her. I don't know what to do."

"You must become... a wolf," she answered.

My confusion was evident in my pause. "You mean shift? Or-"

"No," she cut me off and her anger had returned, and with it clarity. "You and I are too separate. This wouldn't have happened if we were one. You and I need to become one, Bella."

"Oh," I said, surprised and my confusion only slightly alleviated. "How?"

"Meditate. Find the wolf inside you, bring it to the surface without shifting. Find me within you, we were always meant... to be one..." Her voice faded as she spoke and to my alarm, so did the scene surrounding me.

As if the lights were being dimmed slowly the fog grew darker and darker, the hazy shapes of trees and rocks lost all definition and before long my sense of Isabella was dampened completely and I knew she had left me for now, but I did not wake. Instead I was left alone in the darkness as a feeling of panic and fear began to grow in me. Suddenly I fell into a dream that felt like equal parts nightmare and memory. My human body was locked away in a glowing iron cage, railing against the bars as I watched through eyes hovering beyond my confines. Teeth flashed around me, blood sprayed the ground below me. Concrete and asphalt. I heard screams and watched flashes of dark hair and white skin blur around me, then woke up gasping and covered in a cold sweat. Bright sunlight streamed into the room and stung at my eyes but I dared not close them again.

Alice stood at my side with a glass of cold water and a worried look obvious in her eyes. "You were thrashing and I tried to wake you, but you wouldn't," she said quickly. "I looked into the future and saw you would wake on your own soon enough. I thought you might want this," she said, holding out the glass for me.

I nodded slowly, trying to wash the images away. Grabbing the glass, I tried to focus on the cool relief for my raw throat. "Did I scream?" I asked, hoarse.

Alice only grimaced, and I knew that meant yes.

"I'm sorry," I said, ashamed. "I had a nightmare. I think I saw what happened when I attacked Angela."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alice said, coming to sit beside me. Her hand softly rubbed against my back and I leaned into her, grateful for the support.

"Not really, I'm sorry. I'd rather just forget it."

"I understand," she said gently. "There are some visions I wish I'd never seen, even to this day." She stood and pulled me with her. Together we stepped into a ray of bright sunlight. Alice's skin lit up in the beautiful way vampires do, and I smiled. I grabbed her other hand and ran my thumbs gently over the backs of her shimmering hands, marveling at the sight. "The best thing about nightmares," she said gently, "Is that the sunlight of a new day washes them away every time."

The creak of wood and a quick click made both of our heads snap towards her doorway, startled until we saw Esme leaning there with a camera in hand and a broad smile on her face. "You two are so damn adorable," she said.

"Cursing, Esme?" Alice teased.

"When the timing is right," she said with a laugh. "Anyways, Bella, lunch is ready downstairs for whenever you're ready."

"Lunch?" I asked, leaning further towards the window and trying to find the sun in the sky. "What time is it?"

"It's only one," Alice said with a shrug.

"Only?" I chuckled. "Waking up at ten is late for me, you know. You guys may not need sleep but if I keep this up, _I'm_ going to become the nocturnal one." I let Alice guide me from the room.

"I thought wolves had a thing with the moon, you'll be fine!" Alice teased as we followed Esme down the sweeping staircase, hand in hand.

From the lower level I heard Emmett call up, "Welcome back to the land of the living, Bella!"

"Coming from the undead man," I laughed, smiling as Jasper and Edward joined in.

Emmett didn't seem to mind being foiled. Instead he stood up and said, "After you eat, wanna come spar with me, Jazz, and Eddie boy?"

I felt Alice stiffen but squeezed her hand and said, "Sounds like the smart thing to do, especially while we wait for news from Aro or Carlisle."

Alice huffed. "If you get hurt, I swear to God-" Her budding tirade ended in a squeak as I whirled on her and hoisted her up into the air by her hips. I spun in a circle as she started to laugh.

"You'll what, huh? Whatcha gonna do?" I smiled as her tinkering laughter spread through the room. "Maybe I'll just hang up from the ceiling fan and leave you to spin around up there while we go out and play in the dirt, how's that sound?"

Even through her smile she protested, saying, "Bella, I'm _serious_!"

"So am I," I said, setting her down. "But I can compromise. What if I only spar with you?"

"What?" She asked, caught off guard.

"I figure Jasper can give us pointers, but it'll be you who I fight. You can go as easy or as hard on me as you want and _I_ get to wrestle with you," I grinned, wiggling my eyebrows much to the amusement of the guys. "Everybody wins."

"This plan? Epic," Emmett said, his voice deep and sage-like as he stroked an imaginary beard.

"Yes, I concur," Edward seconded him in the same tone and Jasper too followed with, "I also approve. You know, for Bella's sake."

"Not ours, definitely not," Emmett said, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth.

"Of course not, perish the thought," Edward gasped, mocking horror.

"You guys are asshats," Rose piped up from the couch.

Alice laughed at her sister's comment but said nothing in rebuttal. Instead she surprised me by putting her hands on my shoulders and jumping up. I caught her legs in reflex and her arms slid gently around my neck. "Walking too good for you, princess?" I asked with a smile.

"Why walk when I have a big, strong Lycan to do it for me? Now, to the kitchen, my faithful steed. You need to eat!" She japed as I piggybacked her to the kitchen, depositing onto a bar stool as I took the one beside her.

Esme was chuckling to herself as she flipped a burger patty from a skillet onto a bun, then two more to follow it. I saw three more sitting uncooked on a plate beside the stove, waiting to meet their demise. I grinned. The plate with the meat and buns and another with sliced tomatoes and cheese and lettuce was set before me with a loving smile.

"Thanks so much, Esme. Oh lordy, this smells wonderful."

"I'm glad you like it, Bella. I adore cooking, only no one in this household eats! It's a bit of a roadblock, you see."

I laughed as I prepped sandwich one and said, "Happy to help, if you put it that way. _More_ than happy." I bit into the juicy meat and nearly moaned. The savory flavor flooded my mouth and I felt the wolf stir inside of me at the introduction of meat. It wasn't until then that I realized how insistent she was to be let out. I hadn't run at all for an entire day, longer than ever before. My skin started to itch with the realization.

Jasper poked his head into the room with a slight frown and said, "You okay, Bella?" I figured my restlessness was registering to him.

"Yeah, uhm," I said, shaking my head to clear it. "I just realized I haven't let my wolf out to run in a while. Kind of antsy."

"Well, why don't you eat those three burgers there and I can cook up the others when you get back from sparring?" Esme asked, leaning against the counter, a look of concern on her face.

I nodded. That sounded wonderful. "Yeah, that'd be great."

I basically inhaled the other three sandwiches, relishing the feeling of them hitting my empty stomach more than their taste now. It wasn't even close to filled, but I had to get out. I threw a quick thanks over my shoulder and then all but bolted from the house, the vampires close on my heels. I loped into the wood line and breathed in, searching inside of me.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Jasper asked again.

"Yeah," I said, not opening my eyes. "There's still a little bit of a disconnect between my wolf because of the Wolfsbane," I muttered, concentrating.

"Wolfsbane?" Edward asked, eyes widening.

I realized belatedly that I hadn't told them of my dream. "Oh! Right. I'm sorry, my nightmare distracted me. Before that, the wolf in me spoke to me again. She was off though, and it was really confusing. I think it was wolfsbane that did this to me, maybe on the knife. I'm not sure."

"That would make sense," Edward said with a frown. "I probably should have considered that before. I don't know how it would affect a Lycan, though."

A pause then Rosalie said, "Well not all of us are as enlightened as you, Einstein. Spill."

Edward gave her a withering glance then looked back to me. "Wolfsbane grows in the mountains, it's relatively rare and has been a favorite poison for centuries. Especially where werewolves are concerned. I know it was used extensively in the Volturi's werewolf genocide, and that in extremely small doses it will rob a Child of the Moon of their strength, and more will kill them. I'm not sure how it would affect a Lycan, but there may be a link."

"We can look into it after Bella and Alice are done wrestling," Emmett grinned until Rosalie smacked him in the back of the head.

"Watch it, mister. Not only is Alice my sister, _your_ sister, but your sexy wife is standing right here, you know."

"Aw, babe, how could I forget?" Emmett said sweetly, leaning in for a kiss.

Rose seemed to debate for a second, but finally obliged him with a quick peck. Emmett grinned, clearly feeling accomplished. "I spoil you," Rose sighed, then turned to me. "He's an ass, but he's kind of right. Are we doing this or what?"

I smiled and nodded, then pulled my second skin over me. It wasn't easy and it wasn't smooth like it should have been, though I knew in my gut that if I hadn't been so desperate to shift it would have been even worse. I felt my skin stretching in uncomfortable ways and a few bones popped painfully, but before long I was standing on all fours and panting just a bit, tail drooped and ears flat, but full wolf. My eyes were level with Emmett's, my fur was a drab gray and my eyes amber but it was good enough for now.

Alice ran a hand through my fur and said with a frown, "Maybe we should give you a little more time to recover before trying this. You're not at full strength yet."

"I'll be fine," I told her, wagging as best as I could.

Before she could offer any more disagreement Edward said, "Follow me, then!" We followed him in silence, dashing through the forest, skirting houses and leaping over roads until we came to a large clearing on the ridge of a hill. "Esme didn't want us to tear up the yard," Edward said. "We always come here to play baseball, I figured it would do."

I smiled and looked at the view into a valley to the right of us. "Its beautiful up here," I replied.

"Unfortunately we're not here to sight see," Jasper drawled, beckoning Alice and I to follow him further into the field.

And so it was that we spent our afternoon wailing on each other. It was half education and half humor, mostly due to Emmett's commentary. Several times Jasper pulled one of the others in to show how a certain move was done, or explain how an enemy would react to me. They offered fight experience and told stories and I did my best to absorb it, all while I was attempting to avoid Alice's swift kicks and punches. I would charge and she would jump. I would pin her but she'd wriggle away. I'd bat her aside, and she'd flip me over her shoulder. Only twice did I manage to get her in a position that caused her body to go slack and her head to thump back and then she would yield. The sun was beginning it's decent in the sky when I finally collapsed, panting. Alice flopped down beside me with a grin and the others shared her expression.

"You did really well, Bella," Jasper said.

"Do you feel back to your old self yet?" Edward asked.

I rolled back to my feet and spent a moment introspecting myself. My body felt right, my joints were my own and I felt the wind in my hair. My senses were prime and my sight sharp and I felt my other body lingering in limbo, just waiting to be summoned again. "I think so, yeah."

"I think we need to have a rematch, Bella," Emmett said with a grin.

I let out a dry laugh and rolled my eyes. "If you want to get beaten again, sure. I don't have to be careful about hurting _you_," I grinned, and he feigned being offended.

"What, are you saying you let me win all those times?" Alice asked with a raised brow but a joking tone to her voice.

I considered her for a moment then responded, "My pride demands that I say yes."

Alice just laughed.

Back at the house I voraciously tore into my meal with renewed vigor, the three burgers and then some, while the others broke down my progress and what I still needed to work on. When Carlisle stepped through the front door they updated him as well and he smiled, ready to share some news of his own.

"Aro called again today and said to expect the books by tomorrow morning. He was kind enough to overnight them for an old friend, as he put it."

Esme smiled and said, "That was very considerate of him."

Alice asked, "You don't suppose he'll send a few guards along with it, do you?"

"I considered that as well," Carlisle sighed. "I asked on the phone what the latest news was to try and wheedle something out. He let pass that Jane and Alec are busy in Russia at the moment and that Demetri is tracking a rogue in Sydney, but beyond that I'm unsure. I do think it would be best if Bella was not here until we are certain."

Alice scuffed her shoe on the carpet before looking at me. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Her scent is everywhere though," Rosalie said.

"So we'll open the windows," Alice grumbled then sighed. "I'm really not happy with this."

"It's one night, Al," Edward laughed. "Bella _does_ have a father you know, one who's probably wondering what happened to her."

Alice's brows lifted as if to indicate that she had indeed forgotten. "Um, right. I guess so." She paused, then, "Call me paranoid but honestly I don't like leaving you unprotected if anything involving the Volturi is coming to town."

Rosalie rolled her eyes and said, "You two are sickening. Alice, just go home with Bella. Stay the night there, meet her father officially, etcetera. If anyone comes, and I doubt they will, you'll be out hunting. Duh."

Alice looked uncertain. She had probably already considered it but felt it too forward to ask. I smiled and nodded. "Sure. Charlie won't mind, I'm sure. Alice, what do you think?"

She clasped her hands together and smiled, saying, "That sounds amazing. I want to meet Charlie officially as your friend, not just as the doctor's daughter."

"It's a plan then, let me just-" Instead of finishing my thought I was dragged towards the stairs by an overly excited pixie.

"Help me pick out an outfit to impress your dad," she said quickly.

I heard hooting laughter behind us and threw a plaintive glance down at the vampires behind me, finding only shit eating grins. Emmett mouthed, "Good luck!"

"Alice," I said as we were nearing the top, "You're adorable, he'd love you even if you were wearing a potato sack."

"Then he'll love me even more in Burberry and Chanel!"

I'll admit Alice looked cute as hell even if it took her an hour to coordinate everything properly, time I spent sitting on her bed trying not to wonder what stage of dress she was in on the other side of her bathroom door. Twice she lifted her shirt before the door had fully closed (on purpose, I'm certain,) leaving me dry mouthed and anxiously waiting for her return. She was wearing dark blue jeans and a white shirt with a black button up vest, a series of silver dangling necklaces, black pumps that reveal perfectly painted toe nails and wide lens Gucci sunglasses. She stood before me and wrapped her arms around my waist looking up at me with a broad smile.

"Cute enough to meet your father?" She asked.

"Technically, you've already met him," I joked, trying to distract myself.

She smiled and thumped me lightly on the shoulder. "You know what I mean, Bella. Officially as your friend, face to face conversations, so he won't only know me as the the random hospital girl who's been kidnapping you for the past two weeks."

I laughed and smiled down at her. "Fine. You look phenomenal but honestly, when don't you? If he gets a crush on you, I don't know what I'm going to do about it," I said with a smile.

She scoffed and said, "Ew, Bella! Don't even say that, that'd be gross." She stood on her tip toes, her lips hovering just in front of mine. I could feel her cool breath ghosting against them and my blood started to boil in the best way. "I'm glad you approve though," she mumbled, closing the distance.

Our lips locked with the usual fire. The pent up tension from her tantalizing me for the past hour was released in a sudden burst as I picked her up, locking her legs around my waist, and pressed her against a wall. Her low and throaty moan into my mouth set me to panting as my hand slowly drifted from her hip to her stomach, ghosting just below her breasts. Her hands delved into my hair before going to my shoulders and pulling in an effort to bring us even closer together. The back of my knuckles brushed gently against her breast and she pulled back with a shuddering gasp.

"Sorry," I whispered, blushing at what I perceived as disapproval until I realized her eyes were jet black.

"No, just-" her words cut off as she had to swallow and gasp, regaining her composure. "Just, I really don't want to rip your clothes, or mine. And if we don't stop I'm not going to have a choice." Her dark eyes met mine and a fire lit in the pit of my stomach, begging for attention. I felt my heart stutter and was suddenly very aware of her body in relation to mine. She was still hoisted up against the wall, after all.

"Yeah," I gasped out in turn. "You're right. Uhm..." I set her down and stepped back, running a hand through my hair. "We should probably get going."

Alice nodded then scuffed her toe on the floor. "This is harder than I thought it would be. Taking things slow, I mean."

I chuckled and said, "I agree."

Alice's porsche careened along the slightly damp roads and I kept a sharp eye on the passing scenery. I was deep in thoughts concerning coming out to my father on multiple levels, both as a Lycan and as Alice's soul mate/girlfriend/whatever we are. I wasn't sure which scared me more. Charlie was accepting and I'd never heard him say anything slanderous against gays (or Lycans) but we'd also never really brought it up. I found myself wondering how he would take me telling him.

"Hey Alice?" I asked, breaking a comfortable silence as her car passed into the town limits.

"You want me to see what Charlie would say to you coming out," she said not as a question but a statement, with a small smile on her face. She cast a sideways glance and, upon seeing my one raised eyebrow, chuckled. "Sorry, I saw what you would say when you decided to ask me."

I blushed just slightly and said, "Right, that's how that works. It's just that I'm pretty nervous."

She reached over and laid a hand on my knee. "Bella, we don't need to do that any time soon. You haven't really figured anything out on either front, Lycan-wise or... gay-wise." She smirked and I couldn't help but laugh. "I mean honestly, you haven't even asked me out yet! You should probably tell _me_ you want to date me before you tell your father, right?"

That blindsided me. "I assumed you knew! I don't know how this whole dating thing works, and shouldn't soul mate override dating, anyways?"

Now Alice was really laughing. "Bella, clam down, I'm just teasing you! Well, kind of. You really _should_ get around to asking me out, you know. Anyways, I agree with you that soul mate business makes dating kind of irrelevant but what would be easier to explain to your father, that you have a supernatural, predestined, fated connection with me or that you think girls are hot?"

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry because both were still terrifying. "Maybe I should just sit him down and get it all out at once. Think he'd have a heart attack?"

Alice seemed to space out for just a moment, then came back with a grimace. "Well, maybe not all of it at once. Let me win him over with my undeniable charm and charisma first, and then we'll see how it would go after that."

I laughed and groaned at the same time, letting my head fall into my hands.

"Oh, cheer up, Bella! It'll be fine, one way or another. Now get your ass out of the car, we're here!"

I looked up and sure enough Alice's car had parked just in front of my lawn, and there standing behind the living room window between parted curtains was Charlie's curious face. I spied him watching me and waved. He smiled and I found myself jealous of his happy ignorance. Alice leaned around me and waved as well. She grabbed her overnight bag from the back seat and ushered me out. I'm not sure why I was so nervous, but my heart was pounding as we walked up the short sidewalk to the front door. Something about Charlie getting to know Alice was making me worried. What if he didn't like her? What if something happened, if something went wrong?

Alice punched me lightly in the shoulder and joked, "Calm down, you. Breathing is a good thing, remember?"

I took her words at face value and took a deep breath because she was actually right, I needed one. Feeling only slightly calmer, I pushed open the front door and called out, "Hey Charlie! I'm home, I brought Alice with me."

I heard Charlie's laughter from within the living room before he stepped into the entry way to greet us. He had a smile on his face but his hands were stuck deep into his pockets, a habit I knew he had to hide nervous fidgeting. He was always like this with new people though. I had always found it a little bit funny that the big bad police chief, the second he was out of uniform, had more social anxiety than a kid on their first day of high school.

"Two strangers just walking through my front door, what a day! I'm the police chief you know, don't make me haul you both down to the station." His attempt at humor seemed a little forced but Alice laughed anyways, and I saw some tension go out of Charlie's shoulders.

"Hi sir, it's nice to see you again. Sorry I've been monopolizing Bella lately." Her voice was airy and sweet, vivacious. I smiled without even thinking about it, and so did Charlie.

"Oh, don't worry about it," he waved the idea off. "She's never been quick to make friends, I'm glad she has something to do, ever since, well," he cleared his throat, suddenly awkward again.

I sighed, sympathetic, and said, "It's fine dad. I'm glad Alice and her family are here too, after the kids on the Rez left and with what happened to Angela."

Charlie's cop ears perked up. "So Alice, has your father said anything about how she's doing?"

Alice smiled and nodded. "Yes, he's been keeping close tabs on her for Bella's sake. She's healing quickly, according to him, and he says she'll make a few recovery. Apparently a lot of her wounds looked worse than they were. She'll be released shortly."

All of that was true of course, we only left out the fact that she was healing so rapidly because virulent lycanthropy was now flooding her veins, and in a short amount of time would radically alter her entire world. He didn't need to know that just yet, according to Alice's premonitions.

Charlie, oblivious to the truth, smiled a crinkly eyed smile and nodded. "Glad to hear it. Real glad. This quiet little town wouldn't cope well with the alternative, I don't think."

_It's not as quiet as you think,_ I grumbled to myself. _Vampires and Lycans and Shifters, oh my._

"Anyway, Alice, not that I'm upset that Bella brought a friend home, but I am a little surprised!"

I rolled my eyes and slid into the conversation before either of them got out of hand or overly embarrassing. "What, I can't want to spend some face-to-face time with my own father? Alice wanted to meet you too so I thought instead of me staying at her place, she could stay here for a change. Is that okay?"

Charlie grinned and nodded, oddly not as put off by having another alien-like creature, A.K.A a female, in the house. I thought he would be uncomfortable but instead he looked thrilled. I chalked it up to the assumption that Alice was actually given two gifts with her transformation, the second being some _serious_ charisma. "Of course! Sure, that's great. I mean, well, that air mattress is still busted from when you and Jake used it as a landing pad from the roof," he said, shooting me a dry look while Alice burst into guffaws.

"It's fine, we'll figure something out," I shrugged, trying to hide my delight knowing that we had an excuse to share a bed for yet another night. If Jake and I were still on good terms and not chucking death threats at each other, I might have called him up to thank him.

Before Charlie could say anything in response, his phone rang. He frown and made to fish it from his pocket. His brows furrowed in confusion when he saw what I assumedw as caller I.D., then slid the answer bar across the screen. Holding it to his ear he said, "Hey Tony, what's the problem?"

Alice and my own attuned hearing let us in on the conversation. "Chief, we've got a bit of a situation down here." The voice belong to Tony Hawkins, my father's second in command.

"What kind of situation?" Charlie's voice was gruff, he having slipped back into chief mode in an instant.

"Nothing crazy, just no idea what to do. You remember Gulliver from Seattle? The little guy?"

"Sure thing, he was in Bob's canine class, right? Squirmy little kid fresh out of the academy. What about him?"

The name stuck out to me. Bob Harrson was an ex-military guy who lived just outside of town. He had worked canines in the military and after retiring eventually opened a school here in town. Cops from all over the area, even from other states, sent their dogs and eventually their trainees to him for schooling.

"Well," Tony went on, "Gulliver went AWOL. Redding from the Seattle station says he found his dog chained up in his house, half starved. Station didn't know what else to do so they brought the dog back to Bob, and Bob brought it to us. What should we do, Chief?"

Charlie scowled and rubbed at his five o' clock shadow, grimacing. "Damn shame, that any cop would leave a bright little dog like that. No word of where Gulliver is at?"

"Investigation's pending, but no word."

"Damn shame that, too. Well..." Charlie sighed and seemed to be thinking hard. "Max is getting older, ain't he?" Max was Tony's dog, if I remembered right.

"Sure Chief, but me and the lady don't have room for another dog, especially not with Mia turning four next week. No time for a high energy drug dog. How about you?"

"How about me what?" Charlie asked, still deep in thought.

"Well, Jimmy and I were talking about how you and Bella got all that room to yourself, nice big yard." My ears perked upward, so to speak.

Charlie looked to me for an instant before turning his attention back to the phone. "Shit Tony, we don't have the time either."

I heard Tony scoff. "C'mon chief, the poor thing's half starved. It's summer break, don't tell me Bella doesn't have the time. She not a dog person, or what?"

I wish I had an excuse to having over heard the conversation so I could jump in. "What is it, Dad?" I asked him.

"Tony, I just don't-"

"Dad, what's happening?"

Charlie sighed. "One sec Tony, Bella's here." He put the phone down and turned to me and said, "Some young upshot cop left his damn dog to die, it ended up at our station and they want us to take it in," he said.

"Sure! Let's do it," I said with a smile.

"What?" Charlie asked, caught off guard. I could sense Alice watching the situation with interest beside me.

"Let's do it. Come on Dad, why not? We've never had a pet!"

He paused, then, "What about your goldfish?"

"Dad, I'm serious! I want to help the dog, and it's summer, I have the time. _And_ a job, I've got this."

"It's a police dog, honey. They're not just pets, they're tools too."

"Not a police dog anymore," I said pointedly. "Come on. Let's do it. Maybe just to get the dog up to strength, and then we can put it with a trainer here in town maybe? Lord knows the high school could use some drug detection every now and then."

Charlie grimaced, then slowly picked the phone back up. "Fine, we'll do it."

"What?" I heard Tony's surprise through the line.

"Sure. We'll see what we can do but I'm not promising a forever home here. When can you bring him over?"

Relief was palpable in Tony's voice. "How's tomorrow sound? He's sleeping now."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I'm expecting it'll come with a bed and crate and stuff. The handler's old things?"

"Yup, it's all here. Thanks chief, this is sure gonna earn you a few beers next time the guys go out."

Charlie laughed a little. "It better. So this dog have a name? I don't remember it."

The voice on the line paused a moment, then, "Yeah, tags say 'Argo.'"

**A/N: This Argo thing may seem random but give me the benefit of the doubt here!I have ideas, I'm making things :) Anyways! Next chapter hopefully is when we'll get Angela in here, and some other dramaful lovelies. I'll now be going back to updating every week, so yeah!**

**SHOUTOUTS!**

**SKALD OF FREYA: Seriously, your reviews are just awesome. You always write so much! Hmm, fills my heart with joy ^^ Anyways, to answer you, thank you for your dedication to the story. It's awesome to have such devoted readers, it really keeps me fueled to keep up with my writing and such. As for Bella's guilt, she'll get it under control. I never saw Angela as a spineless creature, and I prefer to write her as a bit more gutsy than she was in the books so she won't exactly be making it hard on her. I agree with you that Ben is boring as hell, and I'm reading a lot of Maggie love so that's probably the way I'll take this, Jasper is my second bet. I mean come on, this is fem-slash for a reason, and you can never have too many lesbians ;D Ahem. This upcoming chapter should have more info on Lycans as Bella get's the Volturi books and Angela shifts (if I can wedge it in, I don't want to cut it short but I'm really impatient to fledge Angie out... sigh) so we'll get some Lycan time next go around. As for the scope, yes. Yes, you are correct. I easily see this fic going over fifty chapters, this isn't even the tip of the iceberg, what we have so far. Just intro! :D Again, your reviews are the bomb-diggity (yes, that just happened and I'm not sorry) and dialogue is awesome! As long as you readers keep reaching out I'm happy to respond ^^**

**VICIOUSVILET: Aww, moving people to tears? Is it weird that that's actually an awesome compliment? XD I think that's probably weird, I shouldn't be proud about that, but I am. And thanks for the fic, I'll check them all out! I'll let you know my opinions too, I'm sure they're gonna be awesome. I mean, you found this story, so you must have amazing taste in literature ;D Just kidding, I'm not that cocky, I promise!**

**NEB87: Yeah, don't worry about Benwolf, no one really seems to like him. I don't blame you all, he's about as exciting as a tree stump. I'm planning on Angie playing a MAJOR role too, so she needs to end up with someone I can actually stand to write.**

**AMELIA DRACIOUS: No, no Jasward here! And I don't have any plans for Tyler. The humans won't play a huge role until school gets back in.**

**Alright guys, thanks again for your patience! I sense a lot of AngelaxMaggie love, I don't blame you! Who can resist Irish accents anyways?! Like I said at the top, I'll be returning to updating by the week now. Let me know what you think of this all, alright? Next chapter I'm thinking Lycans and secrets and drug dogs oh my xD S'gonna be a party! Okay I'm done now, see you next week! I love you all!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Oops... I updated again... (Patience is not one of my virtues.) This chapter has more business than fluff, but I tried to keep them together as much as possible. **

My mind was so occupied with thoughts of this dog that I forgot to be excited about bringing Alice into my room. Instead I just crossed mindlessly to my bed and flopped down, waiting for her to do the same. She dropped her bag by the door before coming to join me, eyes searching mine.

"So what was that about?" She asked, genuinely curious. "You seemed pretty intense."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm honestly not sure. Just felt like the right thing to do."

"Taking in a neglected dog? I'm all for the caring thing, don't get me wrong, but is that really a good idea when you've got so much on your plate?" I saw true concern for me in her eyes. I tried to soften my brooding expression, giving her a smile instead.

"I'm sure, Alice. I don't know, I don't think its a wolf thing but it feels just as strong. And like I said, if it doesn't work out we can always just give him back to the police."

Alice smiled back. "True. Well are you excited then? We've never had a dog either, for more obvious reasons than yours, I'm sure."

I had to laugh at that. "You guys are just the wrong kind of animal lovers, I guess." We both laughed, and it wasn't until it dwindled down that I answered her. "I'm really excited, actually. I bet being a Lycan will make dog ownership a lot more interesting. I hope it's not a bad thing though."

Alice shrugged. "Your alpha business will probably help a lot, honestly."

"Any chance you could peek ahead so I know what to expect?" I asked with a half smile and a shoulder bump.

She just rolled her eyes and sighed, joking, "I _suppose_. Only because you asked nicely though." Her eyes lost focused for just a few seconds. When her brows drew together in frustration, I knew the odds of her having found anything helpful were slim. "Damn," she said.

"No dice?"

"There must be too much Lycan mojo between you and dogs, it's like you and the shifters. Bad signal."

I considered that for a moment. "Hmm. Well, I think it's safe to assume we'll have a connection at least."

Alice just smiled, but then it faltered and her eyes flicked to the window and she stood, walking towards it. I watched as her deft fingers undid the latch and pushed it upwards, letting the night air flow through. On it I smelled dozens of human scents, but also the woods surrounding us. She stood there breathing deep and I knew she was scenting the air as well. I could see tension in her shoulders.

"You're still worried, aren't you?" I asked. "Wouldn't you see if they were coming?"

Alice turned around and sighed. "Yeah, a little stressed. And no, not necessarily. Aro has mastered the art of evading my visions. He has a gift of his own, that as soon as his skin touches yours he can see everything about you. Every thought, emotion, want, wish, everything. As soon as he learned how my gift worked, he started working on ways to avoid it."

"How?" I asked, confused.

Alice leaned against the wall beside the window, and frowned. "For example, he could order Alec and Jane to go to Port Angelas, or more likely some strange, obscure place I wouldn't think to check, and last minute have them change course. The surprise doesn't give us more than five minutes, usually."

I frowned too and said, "This Aro guy sound like a bastard."

Alice chuckled, but it barely reached her eyes. "Well, you're not wrong. He's also cunning, self-serving, and deceitful." She cast a glare out the window.

I rose quickly from the bed and walked over to her. Alice acknowledged my motion with a slight tilt of her head but otherwise didn't move. She looked as taut as a drawn bow. I sighed gently and put a hand on her shoulder, drawing her around to face me. Her eyes were black with equally dark emotions, but closed when I drew her in for a quick kiss.

Pulling away, I murmured, "Alice, it'll be fine. They'll never know I was there even if they do show up which I doubt they will. Aro has no cause for suspicion. And for just a second, imagine they do come. They won't look here first, they'll go to your house and you'd see that for certain. We'd get the heads up we need. If they found us, which they might not, you can see the future and I can wolf out at will. I think we could take them, huh?" I finished my tirade by hugging her tight.

She stayed in my embrace for a few seconds before I felt her nod. "I guess so. It's just..." She huffed out a breath. "I'm not used to these mate instincts! Every fiber of my body wants to spirit you away to some secluded island or hidey-hole or _something_."

I leaned in to kiss her gently again, this time on the forehead. "Quit worrying your pretty little head, we've got bigger things to worry about than some upjumped royal assholes. Such as," I waved dramatically to the TV-Blu Ray combo on the wall opposite my bed, "What movie we will be watching tonight!"

Alice laughed despite herself.

"Hey now, don't laugh, this is a crucial piece of business." I slipped my hand into her and led her over. My TV sat on a stand, the Blu Ray player below it and a shelf of movies below that. I had classics like Gone with the Wind and Princess bride which contrasted pretty strongly with How to Train Your Dragon and Tangled, but hey. Whatcha gonna do?

Alice laughed again and pulled one out. "Interview With A Vampire?"

I smiled and shrugged. "Anne Rice knew what she was doing with that book, and the movie isn't half bad. You've seen it?"

Alice nodded, "Of course! No self respecting Vampire hasn't. Oh!" She said suddenly, lunging for another title. "How about this?"

I glanced at the cover and laughed. "Balto? Really?

"Yes!" Alice said excitedly. "Yes, yes, yes! Please?" She bounced in time with her words, eyes faded back to molten gold.

How could I deny that? "Sounds good to me. Pop it in!"

There was no more talk of vampire royalty or werewolves that night. Instead we watched Balto, and then Monsters Inc. and then, yes, we ended up watching Interview With A Vampire too, all the while talking about what school would be like in the fall, what the resident humans were like and what the Cullens should expect. We talked a little bit about Argo and made bets about what he would look like. Sometime before Interview With A Vampire ended my eyelids grew heavy. I yawned and looked to Alice where she lay curled up into my side, both of us sitting upright with backs to the wall. I lifted her onto my lap then shimmied us both under the blankets, laying down and putting her smaller form into the curved crook of my own. I pulled her tight against me and fell asleep with her scent in my nose. I did not dream that night, nightmares or otherwise.

I woke to Alice shaking my shoulder gently. "Bella?" She murmured softly.

I broke out of my sleep filled haze, opening my eyes to meet her own topaz gaze. She smiled. "Charlie's about to call us down for breakfast."

I laughed airily and stretched, conscious of Alice's eyes on me even though my own were closed once again. "But I don't smell anything burning, that can't be right."

Alice chuckled and said, "Give the man some credit, smells like he can make some mean scrambled eggs."

She wasn't wrong, at least. I knew for a fact Charlie could make eggs, grilled cheese, and microwave dinners. Those he rarely burned, but anything else though was just plain out of the question. "Well, what are you going to eat? Something makes me doubt Charlie will volunteer."

Alice wrinkled her nose at me. "Ew, Bella. I don't want to think about eating your dad this early in the day."

For some reason that cracked me up. It must have been my laughter that drew Charlie's attention because seconds later his voice rang up the stairs. "You up, girls?"

"Yeah, Dad," I said breathless.

"Well get your buns down here, I made eggs and, uhm... well, there's bread for toast."

I smiled at the man, even though he couldn't see me. "Don't worry, I'll make the toast."

He just chuckled, and I left it at that, turning back to Alice instead. "We could just tell him you're on some weird diet. Some vegan, gluten free thing?"

Alice smiled. "Works for me!"

Downstairs we found Charlie standing over a skillet full off scrambled eggs with cheese and bits of ham mixed in. "Look at you go, Dad! Ham _and_ cheese? You wouldn't be trying to impress any new guests, would you?" I asked in a teasing tone.

Charlie's ears grew red, but he said, "Of course not," in his gruff, policeman's voice.

"Darn, because it was working!" Alice said with a laugh. "Uhm, I'm sorry though, I probably should have mentioned earlier that all us kids are on a pretty weird diet. Carlisle being a doctor and all, he's doing a study and we all volunteered to help."

Charlie frowned in surprise. He didn't really understand the concept of dieting, truth be told. I think he had stored the idea away in the 'newfangled hoodlum junk' file within his head. "Really? Well, at least have some toast then."

Alice grimaced, putting on a good show. "Sorry Mr. Swan, it's vegan _and_ gluten free. I'll be fine though, I promise. We're going back to my house after Argo shows up, I think? Right Bella?" She looked to me.

I nodded, then moved to grab a plate from the cabinet. "That was the plan. Seriously, Dad, Alice will be fine. You know I don't starve my friends," I joked.

Charlie chuckled, as I thought he would. When I had still hung out with the kids from the Rez, we could clean out the whole house in just a weekend. "That's true. She's such a tiny thing, though! The last thing you need to do is diet," he said in his dad voice, brandishing a spatula at Alice.

I laughed. "She's stronger than she looks, Dad. Trust me on that one," I mumbled under my breath and heard Alice snickering under hers.

"If you say so," Charlie said, giving in.

I filled my plate with food and we all sat down at our tiny table. "So what's the story with this dog, Dad?" I asked, before he could bring anything else up.

Charlie frowned over his eggs and grumbled, "It's a damn disgrace, young cop like that treating his dog so badly. Those are expensive dogs, you know! Shipped here from Europe, trained for two years, and then our state has to buy them and this Gulliver wacko just ups and leaves his. No clue if it's been abused on top of it all, but you never know. Poor think may never be able to work again."

I shrugged and said, "We'll get him back to speed."

Charlie took a bite of eggs. "You gotta know Bells, these dogs are hand picked as puppies to be stubborn and driven. Aggressive, even. It's not gonna be an easy thing and I don't want an unruly attack dog in this house. If either one of us gets bitten, the dog's gone. Have I got your word on that?"

I chewed that over, and finally said, "We'll see!"

Charlie's gaze shot up to mine, a disciplinary light to his eyes so I quickly turned to Alice and asked, "So are you excited for school to start?"

Alice looked surprised for a second, having been zoning out prior, but recovered quickly. "Uhm, I guess so! I mean, we've bounced around so many schools the 'new kid' thing gets a little old."

"Well, at least you've got your siblings with you, right? You all the same age?" Charlie asked.

"Well, technically Edward and I are seventeen and should be juniors, but for our last two years of Junior High all five of us were home-schooled and brought up to the same level. We're all going in as seniors this year."

"Hmm," Charlie said nodding. "Well how are you all liking Forks? It's a good little town we've got here. Quiet, peaceful, nothing out of the ordinary." _Right, you go on and keep thinking that, _I thought with a smile on my face. Alice and I shared a sidelong glance.

"Who says it's quiet?" I joked. "Forks in definitely the life of the Washington party! We've had _three_ Sasquatch sightings so far this summer!"

Charlie gave me a dry look. "Bella, I-"

Alice looked towards the door just before the doorbell rang. If Charlie noticed her, he didn't say anything. Instead he sighed an old man sighed and stood up, heading to answer with Alice and I close in tow. In true cop fashion he checked the peep hole before opening the door.

"It's Tony, but I don't see the dog," he mumbled to us. Swinging the door open he met face to face with his co-worker.

"G'morning, chief," Tony said, just as gruffly as my father returned his, "Gmorning, Tony." Huh. Must be a cop thing.

"So where's this dog you promised me?" Charlie asked.

Tony threw a thumb over his shoulder towards where his truck was parked at the curb. "Kennel's in the back seat. Need some help bringing it in. You got any idea how much that dog weighs, skinny as it is? I got a bad back."

Charlie scoffed good-naturedly and followed his friend outside, muttering, "Sissy" as he went.

Alice and I followed to grab the leash, bowls, toys, food, and bed that sat in the truckbed, all the while watching with rapt attention as the two men shimmied the kennel out of Tony's back seat. They huffed and puffed as they carried it towards the door, but all I could see from where I stood were flashes of dark fur through the small bars at the top. From walking through their path I could smell the dog's fear, and my mood darkened. Once inside, Charlie and Tony had set the kennel down in the middle of the living room floor.

"Heavy little bastard," Charlie huffed, wiping his brow.

"And underfed at that," Tony grumbled. "Let's see if we can get him out. He wouldn't come out for anyone at the office, we had to feed him in his cage. Can't believe he hasn't pissed his cage yet."

Anger boiled under my skin. I was still waiting to get a good look at the dog, cowered as he was at the back of his cage. Tony leaned forward and fiddled with the latch of the kennel.

"He's not gonna attack us, is he?" Charlie asked, apprehensive.

"You kidding me?" Tony asked, opening the door. "This dog is terrified of it's own shadow, he won't be attacking anything for a good long while, if ever."

Charlie sighed and squatted down before the door of the cage. "Here boy," he said, holding out a hand. The fear smell grew stronger.

I couldn't take it any more. "Back up Dad. He's cornered, you're not gonna help anything." I looked around and found one of the dog's toys, a tennis ball.

"Was he trained on a tennis ball?" I asked Tony. I knew a fair amount about police dogs from back when I lived with my mother still. Our next door neighbor had a bloodhound the local PD used for tracking, but I knew the system was fairly similar.

"Uh, yeah?" Tony answered, confused.

"Do you know what language they worked him with?" I asked. For Rocko, the bloodhound Mr. Turly had owned, it was Romanian. I remembered loving to watch Mr. Turly and Rocko practice because of the strange words Mr. Turly knew. Renee had always pulled me back from the fence, being afraid of dogs herself. She never let us have one, never let me get close to one either.

"No clue," Tony said, frowning.

I sighed and backed up from the cage, sitting crossed legged on the ground a good ten feet back from the entrance, and I got my first look of Argo. Tony wasn't wrong, he was skin and bones. Even in the shadows I could see the lines of his bones. His coat was ragged and lackluster, but still giving him the appearance of bearing more weight than he did. He didn't have the usual black and tan of a German Shepherd, but instead seemed to have a sort of brown, cinnamon undercoat that came to black on the surface, a sort of dark sable color. Still, thin as he was, he filled the back of his kennel. He couldn't have been less than thirty inches at the shoulder, but it was hard to tell from the way he was hunched and curled up. His eyes were a dark chocolate brown and filled with fear, but when mine locked with his I felt a jolt, and Isabella twitched within me.

"Argo," I said, brandishing the ball. His ears perked and I bounced it on the ground a few times. "Argo," I said his name once more, just in a gentle and soothing way. The dog's eyes flicked from the ball in my hand and back to my eyes. I rolled it across the floor, slowly and gently until it came to rest with a thump against the lip of his temporary shelter. "Go on," I said gently. My memories flashed back to Mr. Turly explaining ball drive to me. It was a characteristic police dogs were selected for, a high prey drive that made their work worth it as long as they got their beloved ball in the end. I watched the decision move through the dog's eyes until finally, quick as a snake, he lashed out and snatched the ball, pulling it inside to begin chewing away.

"Good boy," I said in that same tone, smiling. Argo paused just a moment to meet my eyes again before continuing on, glancing at me every now and then.

"Would you look at that," Tony said, rubbing at the stubble on his chin. "I didn't even think about using toys to lure him out, I figured food would be enough."

I just shrugged, watching the dog as he watched me.

"Guess I'll take off then," Tony said.

I looked up to find Tony looking and me, and Alice and Charlie too.

"Yeah, sure. We got this," I said with a smile.

"Hmm," Tony said, nodding slowly.

"Yeah, I'll give Bob a call later today. Maybe he can swing by and help us out a bit," Charlie said, running a hand through his hair. He seemed a little tense.

"Well alright then," Tony said, and my Dad walked him out. I craned my neck to see them out by Tony's truck talking. Alice looked at me expectantly.

"Well?" she asked.

I looked back to Argo and saw him watching me. "There's something here," I said. "I just don't know what yet." Something _somewhere_ was trying to tell me something, I could feel it. Maybe it was Argo himself.

"What about Isabella?" Alice asked.

"She's interested, but it's not like it is with the shifters, for example. Less potent." Argo left his chewing to watch me as I spoke, eyes keen with interest. "Hey, bring me that bag of food and the bowl, please?"

"Sure," Alice said and made to do just that. She handed me a bowl full of kibble before backing up again. I made a note to thank her later for being understanding with all this. She seemed to be on the same wavelength as me; I didn't need to ask her to stay back or make sure not to move too quick.

I held the bowl in my hands and once more called out softly, "Argo."

He was watching me intently, still hunching in the back of his kennel. Slowly I stretched out on my stomach, staying as low to the ground as I could. My wolf knew that if I tried to arch above him he'd be threatened, and that if I moved to quickly he would startle. His body language read like a book to me, and the wolf in me just seemed to know innately how to respond. I knew the kennel needed to be his space and that invading it could break any tentative trust we may have already been building up. So I stretched as far as I could, pushing until the food bowl too came to rest just outside the mouth of his kennel. My reasoning was that because of the tennis ball Argo would remember that nothing bad happened when he stuck his head out of the opening, and maybe he'd do it again with food.

It took longer, but eventually I was rewarded with another quick lung and a quick snap, then the sounds of crunching jaws. When Charlie finally came back in, Argo had shifted positions so that while still hunched he fully faced the kennel entrance, making it easier for him to lunge out and back in. I motioned to my dad for quiet, then tilted my head towards the kennel. Charlie surveyed the scene for a quick moment, frowned, then walked upstairs. Argo flinched at the sound of his footsteps on the creaky stairs, but resumed eating once they had stopped. Once his bowl had been cleaned of food, I tried again with water, but this time it was a bit different. He couldn't dash out and dash back in if he wanted a drink. I could see the dog debating, staring at the bowl intently. Every time he would look at me I feigned disinterest, looking out the window or fiddling with my hands. I was rewarded with the sound of him lapping at the water, and I smiled to myself, stealing a quick glance and finding his eyes on me the whole time. I looked to Alice and smiled.

"I can totally do this, see?" Argo froze for a moment at the sound of my voice, but started back up moments later.

"You do seem to have a way with it all," Alice said appreciatively, looking between Argo and I. "I don't want you to feel rushed but just so you know, the books were delivered just before Argo arrived and no Volturi in sight."

My brows shot upward. "Really?" I remembered her spacing out at breakfast and it clicked. "Oh."

"Sorry, I didn't want you to be distracted from this," she said, tilting her head towards where the dog still hunched, still drinking.

"No, yeah, that's fine." I furrowed my brows in thought. I didn't want to leave him alone here, but I also needed those books and there was no way in hell I could get him to come along. It finally came down to the fact that I had no idea when Angela would shift and I needed to know as much as possible before then. I sighed. "Well, let's go then." I stood slowly, noting how Argo froze up and slunk back into his kennel. I walked to the bottom of the stairs and called out as gently as I dared, "Charlie? Alice and I are heading over to her house. I'm going to leave the door to Argo's kennel open but I doubt he'll come out."

"Alright Bells," I heard Charlie call out over the faint hum of the TV in his room.

As Alice and I made out way to the door I called out, "Bye Argo! Be a good boy while I'm gone," and smiled as his ears perked and his eyes followed my path.

I think it surprised everyone to see that the Volturi actually _really_ came through for us. I expected a box, just something small, maybe a journal or two but instead when Alice and I walked into the Cullen's living room we found a crate, a full fledged _wooden crate_. I saw books and scrolls, loose pages stacked on top and my jaw dropped. I darted forward and ran my fingers across the worn leather covers. "Wow," I breathed gently.

I didn't notice the room was actually full of the entire Cullen Coven until Rose's voice broke into my moment. "Uh, Bella? Why do you smell like dog?"

"Huh?" I asked, pulled half from my awe-induced haze. There were just _so many_ books!

"Oh, Bella got a dog!" Alice answered for me. "A police dog, but his old handler mistreated him and Bella is going to rehabilitate him! His name is Argo."

I heard a happy gasp from Esme, "Oh Bella, that is so kind of you!"

Talk of Argo distracted me enough to turn and look around to room. Esme stood with her hands clasped in front of her face, a smile plastered between her cheeks. "Oh, yeah. Well, I overheard a conversation my dad had with another officer and I kind of volunteered us. He's pretty skittish though, I think his old handler abused him." My voice grew dark at the thought and I frowned.

"That's awful," Emmett said, his voice as dark as mine.

"True," I agreed, then turned my attention back to the crate. This was why I was here, after all. "You guys haven't gone through these yet?"

"We were waiting for you to get here," Carlisle said from the top of the staircase. He carried two large books we had leafed through earlier in the week under his arm, likely having pulled them from his office. "But now that you are, shall we begin?"

"We shall!" I said with a broad grin.

Under Carlisle's guidance we began organizing them. Titles we could translate were filed according to the subject they represented and those we couldn't read were set aside to be defogged at a later time. We ended up with dozens of stacks, some of the most prominent being 'History of Werewolves,' 'War Records,' and 'Guides to Killing Werewolves.' When all was said and done we settled in. The Cullens could read marginally faster than I could of course so they started in on the taller stacks while I claimed the History stack as my own.

The title of one particular origin story caught my eye: _'On Werewolves, Lupes, and Other Wolf Ilk'_ by Throdmar Smith. The book itself was old and relatively thin, with a well worn black leather cover and crinkled, yellowing pages. The words were hand written in ink that had faded from black to brown, and a beautifully illuminated title page depicted a silver man-wolf, buff and broad and standing on two legs, howling at the moon, and behind it slunk a tall, lean, black wolf with glowing red eyes. Excited, I flipped to the beginning and read the first paragraph. I chuckled.

"Found something, Bella?" Alice asked, leaning around her own stack of books to peer at me.

"Some sort of advertisement pamphlet I think, it talks about Lycans!"

"Well, read it then!" Edward laughed from his position on the couch.

I grinned and set in. "Is there a greater fear found than at the howl of a wolf in the night? I answer you sir, that yes there certainly is, for what could be more terrifying than a creature with the body of a foul beast and the mind of a foul man? I offer now a comprehensive guide to the localization, identification, and termination of these savage creatures. No longer shall Werewovles, Lycans, or Beast Men terrorize your village, with the means to destroy them at your finger tips!"

Rosalie chuckled and said, "I hope he made his money back from printing that thing."

"He probably made a fortune, by the sounds of this," Jasper said, brandishing his book in the air. "According to this record, the town of Slavisford in old Germany had fourteen reports of werewolf sightings and eighteen unexplained deaths. Three riots followed the killings because the lord of the town refused to act. Apparently the wolf turned out to be his own son, and the whole family was burned at the stake."

"Damn," I said with a whistle.

"I think I found something about wolfsbane," Edward said, sitting up suddenly. He paused, eyes flying over the page then he grinned. "Yeah, score, listen to this! 'The recipe and toxicity of wolfsbane was developed and mastered by the finest Alchemist of his age, Sir Helmson Vigar, a reformed Child of the Moon himself. Sir Vigar unearthed many much more advanced uses for the poison beyond simple termination. These uses included weakening the subject to near death, erasing their memory, forcing them to shift or inhibiting their shift depending on experience, or even, in monitored doses, severing their unholy connection to the inner beast entirely.'"

I felt the blood drain from my face. "They can _do_ that?" I asked, a cold stone of fear lodging into my stomach.

"Sounds like," Edward said. "I'll keep reading. He hasn't mentioned Lycans specifically just yet, maybe its different."

I couldn't speak, so instead I just bit my tongue.

We read and read and read, the silence breaking only when someone found something of use. Rosalie discovered and began marking down known locations of packs from a list that spanned from 822 B.C. to the early 1700s, and Esme found another book on weapons effective in killing both werewolves and Lycans. Luckily for me silver didn't seem to affect me, but something called 'star sand,' if Carlisle was translating the Latin properly, appeared to affect my kind like kryptonite did Superman. Emmett found one origin story about Lycans that claimed the first of us was a lord cursed by the gods for the consumption of human flesh, but Alice found one that said ours was a gift from the Moon Goddess for loyal service, which more closely resembled what Isabella had told me what felt like ages ago. All in all I could hardly make heads or tails of it and eventually I had to call a break for lunch.

I sat hunched over a plate of burgers when Alice, sitting across from me, froze mid-sentence. I watched as her eyes swirled into inky black pools. "What's wrong, Alice?" I asked, moving immediately to place my hand over hers.

"No," she whispered, seemingly to herself.

"Alice!" I said, jostling her a bit. "Come on Alice, what do you see?" By now the rest of her family had gathered around as well.

"Shit," Edward muttered under his breath, a frown etching onto his face.

"Bella's not the only one pissed at being out of the loop, you two!" Rosalie seethed along side of me, her body taut with worry just as mine was. "Come on, out with it! Is it the Volturi or martians or what?"

"Angela's future disappeared," Edward called over his shoulder, already turning towards the garage, swiping his keys off the living room table as he went.

"What?" I asked, shocked. I whipped my head back around to Alice to see her eyes clear for just a moment before a determined look took over and she delved back in.

"She's looking more closely at where we can find her but we _have_ to find her! I think something is wrong," Edward said as the rest of his family hurried into action as well.

My mind burst into overdrive. Angela was about to shift, she was about to shift _now_ and I had hardly learned anything from these stupid books. Dammit, they were supposed to help me, they were supposed to _fix_ everything! And now they meant next to nothing.

"She wasn't even supposed to be released yet!" Carlisle called from upstairs, reappearing seconds later in rugged clothes, more suited for tracking errant Lycans through the wilderness, or in the worst case scenario, downtown.

"Something must have happened then!" Jasper called from the garage. "Bella, grab Alice and lets _go!_" I was not about to argue with that.

Alice seemed only semi-lucid, still probing the future with an intensity I found both very respectable and extremely inconvenient. Eventually I had to pick her up bridal style and carry her out to Emmett's jeep. Rose, Emmett, Alice and I took the Jeep, Jasper and Edward led in the Volvo and Carlisle and Esme took up the rear in a sleek black Mercedes. Before we had even cleared the driveway Rosalie had set up a three way call.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"From the looks of Alice's vision, she was somewhere on the edge of town," Edward responded. My heart began to pound. "Bella, where does she live? We can start tracking from there."

My heart was pounding so loudly in my ears I barely heard the question. My blood felt like fire. "Uhm, off of Redoak Road. Third house on the right." Edward cut a sharp right and Emmett followed, tossing Alice and I against each other in the back seat. That brought Alice back to reality somewhat, as she shook her head and rubbed at her eyes.

"Oh my god," she groaned. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"What, what's wrong?" I asked, my concern shifting in an instant to the pixie beside me.

"Nothing major, it just hurts to search so thoroughly. Ed, I think she's heading towards the cemetery! Still human, I'm still getting flashes, but they're fading. We don't have much time."  
"God damn it, Angela!" I yelled, angry that she had begun to shift so early and that it was broad daylight and that she couldn't even hear me. "What the hell, it's eleven o' clock in the morning! Who begins their descent into the supernatural world on a fucking Saturday at fucking eleven AM!?"

I was fuming, but I heard laughter through the phone. I had no idea what I was about to do, and I was growing more and more antsy by the second. My skin was _crawling_ and I could feel Isabella pacing like a rabid animal within the cage of my mind. She knew what was about to happen, I was certain. She would know where and when and how and what to do but, just like she said, there was too much distance between us still. I was left in the dark, left to improvise and grope for the answers before it got someone killed. _I swear it right now, if we can get through this unscathed, I will dedicate two hours a day to meditation. You hear that Isabella? I'll do everything you said, just help me help Angela!_ The prayer was quick and to the point, probably less formal than a plea for Angela's life should have been, but I was grasping for strings. I couldn't help but remember Carlisle's shock that I had survived my transformation without guidance, I could only hope Angela was as lucky.

The car slamming on it's breaks brought me back. We skidded to a stop just outside the cemetery walls and the moment a waft of fresh air hit me, my hair stood on end. I could _hear_ the wolf growling inside of me, it roared in my ears as palpable as any true sound. It felt like an electric current was running along the length of me, from head to toe, and I couldn't help but bolt from the car.

"Bella?" I heard Rose calling after me but there was no stopping me. The wolf was in control.

The town cemetery was fairly well surrounded by foliage to make it as private as any mourning ground could be. The thought of my very human grandparents rotting somewhere among the dirt under my feet was a fleeting recognition. I had very human ties to this place, but that wasn't why I was here and my wolf was having no part of it. I growled out a ripping sound, a terrible gut grinding noise, and to my horrified delight heard one in return. Beyond the back edge of the cemetery, before the clearing gave way to trees, a swath of scrub brush made a barrier. Within it's shadowed depths two very red, very glowing eyes stared back at me.

"Angela, get your _ass_ over here right now! What the hell do you think you're doing, running off like this!" The savage growl cut off for just an instant before returning with a fury. _She's still too human for your alpha commands to take root,_ a voice whispered in my ear, all sultry silk and guile. I bared my teeth and stalked towards the brush, feeling and itching in the tips of my fingers. Looking down I noticed my nails had extended into claws.

It was a short walk from the road to where she crouched, but during it all I felt as if I walked through a fog. Time meant nothing and my vision had tunneled until nothing in the world mattered beyond myself and this new Lycan on my land, in my town. Isabella railed against the cage, aching to burst forward. She remembered this fragile body, the one she had torn at and left to die or change, the way nature had always intended. _Grow strong or die, mortal_, she seemed to whisper. I grabbed for a branch which concealed Angela's prone form. My nails ripped into the wooden flesh and tore it away with a resounding crack and snap. Looking down, had I not been enraptured by my beast's blood, I probably would have been horrified.

The creature before me was clearly less than human. It sat hunched and contorted before me, spine elongated and rounded, skin graying and translucent to the point that I could clearly see dark veins pulsing under the thin casing. Her dark hair had tangled and thickened on her now unnaturally long forearms and legs, at least from what I could see. Her face was caught somewhere between a wolf's muzzle and a human's egg-shaped head, grizzled and stretched beyond her skin's capacity, splitting over her snout and at the creases of her mouth. Her joints bulged and froth and mucus mixed around her mouth and her eyes glowed as mine did in my darkest form. Empathy gone from me, I lunged forward and grabbed her under the jaw, forcing her eyes to mine.

"_Look at me_," I seethed.

She growled and lashed out. Her fingernails too had become claws and they drew four lines of blood from my shoulder to my elbow. She didn't speak any language I knew but her body language rang of cornered animal, ready to fight or die. She was in pain too, that much was obvious from the wild glaze in her eyes.

_"You think you're in pain? You know _nothing_ yet!_" I hissed out. "In a few moments your bones will snap and fill with molten lead. You mind will expand and your very soul will warp. Are you prepared for that?"

She began to writhe in my grip, but her eyes stayed locked on mine and for a brief second I saw a flash of clarity. For an instant my eyes seemed to look past her own and for just one instant, I caught a glimpse of her soul and she saw mine, saw Isabella staring back at her from behind my eyes. She cried out, a horrible human-animal wail that ended in a snarl.

"You need to let it happen! Do you hear me? _Embrace it!"_ Isabella pushed and pushed and finally, I couldn't restrain her any longer.

In an explosion of pain and blinding shock, she surged through. _It's never been like this before_, I thought to myself as the inferno consumed us both. I felt like the weight of my wolf had become tangible, it was no longer slipping on a second skin but instead I was wrapping myself in lead. She had her teeth gripped around something and was pulling it along for the ride. I thought I screamed but couldn't be sure.

Finally, I opened my eyes and was greeted by an odd sight. I was in a wolf's body towering over another creature that lay panting between my massive paws. She easily could have stood fully upright directly beneath me, her fur was the color of iron and her eyes were a milky blue. First glance showed a wolf but closer examination revealed slight differences such as longer limbs both in front and in the back. The eyes did not slant as a wolf's did and her ears were much larger. In a flash of insight I realized, _she looks like a pup._ She had the size of a full grown wolf but the build of a lanky pup. Regardless, wolf she was, and very much alive.

"Angela?" I asked, quietly.

**A/N: TAH DAHHHH! Voila! Enter Argo the dog and Angela, the first member of Bella's new pack! Cue applause! Both will be rather crucial characters, of course, otherwise they wouldn't be there (:**

**Before we get into shout outs, one quick question. On previous chapters we usually pull around 20-25ish reviews and our highest was over forty! This time, we only had 11 :/ I'm not one to bitch and moan for reviews just for the sake of them, but I honestly value you my reader's opinions. Am I losing you guys? Your feedback is awesome, and helps me with new ideas. On the flip side, if my story is starting to dwindle maybe some constructive criticism? Anyways, for those of you who did have questions, comments, or concerns...**

**SHOUTOUTS!**

**RUAITAE: I hope the chapter answered your question, but for the record I'll go a little further here. The way I think I'll do this will be for Bella to have a kind of innate connection with dogs and canines in general, that they'll respond to the dominant wolf within her. Not as sophisticated a connection as she would have with humans or other shifters, but they'll definitely be in tune.**

**DJSMITH19186: I love that you have questions, gives me hope that my plot line here is actually worth something ^^ All of them will be resolved in time though, and I'm sure more will pop up along the way. Bella is going to become a very busy bee in the next few chapters!**

**SKALD OF FREYA: Well if my updates are gifts, I happily present you with another one! Merry *insert holiday here* :D Anyways, yes, Bella does indeed have a lot on her plate but I think she can handle it! With the wolfsbane thing, it honestly took me ages to come up with! I knew I wanted her mom to play a very specific role but I had no idea how to introduce it until I looked over at my book shelf and saw my book 'Wolfsbane' by Andrea Cremer and, well, the light bulb lit! I'm glad it's working for you, I'm gonna have some major fun with the whole concept. I also share your feelings about Charlie, he is one fantastic guy. I see him as closer to the way he was portrayed in the movies than in the books, which makes it even more fun. He's definitely going to be integral to the plot as well, no random police calls for him! And Argo... well, I don't want to spoil too much, but suffice to say that everyone needs a summer job, don't they? Bella is going to need a place in the human world as well and I thought, why not as a police dog handler? Police stations being places where she may or may not have access to important information, cases, locations, etc... If you get my drift :P And yes, there will be much resolution before more calamities pop up, I need to tie up some loose ends or I'll end up forgetting important details, which is never good! Thanks again for the astonishing review, above and beyond as always!**

**And that's all for now folks (: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Coming to theaters soon: Angela meets the Cullens!**

**...Does anyone else miss the pack? Wonder if they'd like to meet Angela... Hmm (:**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait again, this chapter didn't feel quite right to me and went over a few pretty intense reviews before I could bring it up. Oh well, I hope you guys aren't as put off as I was in the beginning!**

_ "Angela?" I asked, quietly._

She flinched and skittered out from underneath me. A growl leaked from her lips, and her gaze snapped over my shoulder. In an instant she bolted up and made to leap farther into the woods but my wolf's reflexes took over. I leaped, easily clearing her distance and then some, landing in front of her and seeing for the first time that the Cullen's had approached from the street, all looking awestruck and uncertain. Angela still growled but it now held tints of a whine, and her gaze whipped back in forth between myself and the vampires.

"I've got this, guys. Can you go wait in the cars?" One by one they nodded and retreated, Alice being the last to go. I smiled and her and she smiled back, pride glowing in her topaz eyes. I turned back to my friend-wolf and examined her again. "Can you speak? Do you know who I am?"

"B-Bella," she rasped, her voice gravelly and nowhere near as elegant and fluid as my own speech.

"Yes. I know you must be very confused, but I'm here to help you. Do you trust me?"

She seemed too uncertain to answer so I took the initiative and pulled my human skin back over the wolf. Angela gasped and tried to skitter away once more. An over the shoulder glance reminded her of the strangers that lurked on the street, strangers I'm sure her new found instincts were terrified of. When it came down to it, I must have been the safer option because she didn't try to flee again.

"Stand still," I commanded and she complied. "I need to look you over." I walked forward and laid my hand atop her head, and a body wrenching jolt answered me.

It shot up my arm and into my shoulder, heading straight to me heart before rocketing out into my veins. I gasped and stumbled back, but Angela sagged down, staring at the ground and panting. MY mind ranged about, reaching and probing and questing because to my amazement, I could _feel_ her presence, not just through instinct but in my own mind. The farther I pushed the more intense it became, from feeling the outskirts of her mind to having an awareness of every limb to even catching whispers of her rapid thoughts. She recoiled and so did I, startled and slightly horrified. In that instant though, when her mind brushed my own, a sense of clarity spread through her. She sat bolt upright and looked at me with truly human eyes.

"Oh," was all she said.

I was too startled to comprehend for a moment. "Oh?" I asked.

"You're the one who attacked me," she said, voice as calm as a summer glade.

"I- I-" _Get it the fuck together, Alpha! _Isabella seemed to sneer at me. It worked. "Yes, in a roundabout way. I'm sorry, we are not immune to losing control."

"No, I understand, I saw." As she spoke, her voice grew a bit more human like but it still held a very guttural edge. She looked towards the cars at the edge of the street. "And they're vampires. And you're a lesbian!" She said the last less matter-of-fact than the previous point, showing much more surprise.

"Uhm, well, I guess so." I felt a blush creep into my cheeks. Not only was I bit chagrined, but I was also shocked. She was taking this even better than I had. "Look, we can talk about this somewhere else, alright? There's a lot to cover. Can you shift back?"

Her brows furrowed as well as a wolf's could. An uncomfortable look contorted her face and she squirmed, but finally deflated, panting. "I don't think so. It hurts."

I sighed and frowned. If I had only had one more day, maybe I would know what to say or do but for now I was both without the knowledge or power to help her. "Let's give it some time, then. Can I call the Cullens over? I want to introduce you."

She froze, eying me, but finally nodded.

"They won't hurt you, I promise. They're good people. Carlisle was your doctor when you were in the hospital, you know."

I'm not sure if that surprised her or scared her more. Instead of asking I just raised my hand and waved them over. Alice was the first to arrive, running as fast as she dared to my side and locking her arms around my waist. It wasn't until I leaned into her embrace that I realized how tight and tense with anxiety I had become. Angela watched the exchange with silent interest, one brow quirked.

Before she could remark on it Carlisle was there, hand in hand with Esme and the others were close at their heels. Carlisle smiled down at her and said, "Angela Weber? It is nice to meet you."

A quizzical look lit Angela's face and she frowned, looking from Carlisle to me. "What did he say?" She asked.

I blinked. "You couldn't understand him?"

She just shook her head.

"He said it was nice to meet you." I looked back at the Cullens and saw that they too looked confused. "Can you understand her?" I asked them as a group. Carlisle's mouth opened and closed and opened again as if he didn't know what to say.

"Bella, you-" Edward started to say, but then stopped, frowning.

"Babe, you're not speaking English, you know," Alice swooped in, hip bumping me. "It's all growls."

"Really?" I asked, somewhat delighted. How strange. I looked back to Angela and asked, "Can you understand me when I talk to them? Apparently I'm speaking a different language to you but I don't... I don't know, it sounds the same to my ears, it even feels like my mouth is moving the same."

Angela shrugged. "No, I can only understand you when you address me. When you talk to them it sounds all garbled and jumbled."

"How odd. Oh well, we'll figure it out later. Let's get back to the Cullen's house and try to get you shifted back so we can all talk."

Angela wavered. "I- I don't know, Bella. Something is wrong about them. I can't just-" She cut off, wrinkling her muzzle back and shaking her head. "They make my skin crawl."

I wrapped my arm around Alice's waist, taking Angela's words as a roundabout insult to her, and as such Isabella reared her feisty head. "You'll get over it," I said, my voice holding a harsh alpha's tone. "Alice is my mate and they are her family. You're a part of my pack now whether you like it or not, and you _will_ be dealing with them."

Angela's surprise widened her eyes and I felt the tremor pass through her as my command took place. In that same instant, I felt horrible for doing that to her. Frowning I stepped forward and laid a hand on the top of her head, bending so that I was at eye level with her.

"Look Ange, I'm sorry. It's just... I'm very new to all this. And it's been a long few weeks. Let's go and we'll figure it all out, okay?" She nodded in a quick, jerky movement. I sighed and turned back to Carlisle. "Can we move this party back to Casa Cullen? I want to try and get her shifted back to normal so we can all talk it out."

"Sounds good. Will she be riding with us?" Carlisle asked, quizzical. They may not have been able to hear our conversation but the tension was palpable and I'm sure Jasper understood. A sudden thought struck me.

"Edward, can you read her mind?" I asked.

He blinked and tilted his head. "No. Should I be able to? I just assumed she would have a shield like you did."

I deflated. "Hmm. Oh well." I turned back to Carlisle, realizing he still awaited an answer. "And no, I think we'll run back to your place. She's still pretty uncomfortable with all of this. Maybe a run will help."

Carlisle just nodded and turned away. As they made their way to leave, Alice attempted to go along with them. Instead I caught her wrist and smiled. "Where do you think you're going?"

Confusion then realization played across her face. I picked her up piggy back style then brought the wolf out once more. Alice laughed from her place on my back as I warped and shifted, coming to stand as a large, shaggy white wolf. Angela seemed surprised by my new appearance.

"Will I be able to do that?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Like I said, I'm new at this. You're the only one who, uh, well. You know. Anyways, I'm not sure how it works just yet, but we're working on figuring it out. Come on, I lead you back to there place. A run will probably help you get comfortable, and then maybe you'll be able to shift back. You know, hopefully."

Angela smiled a rueful smile, but nodded nonetheless.

I started us off at a slow lope, plunging into the trees ahead of the smaller, slower, less agile wolf in hopes of clearing a path for her to follow. As we ran, I asked, "So you're parents aren't about to call up a manhunt, are they?"

I felt her surprise in the same way I felt my command within her, some sort of palpable connection in the air. It was very odd, but also helpful seeing as I couldn't currently see her myself. "Oh. Well, no. They had to go drive the twins into Port Angelas to get them new gear for their soccer league. They should be gone for another hour or so."

I laughed a little. "Well, that's good. Quiet through here, there are houses just around the bend." I had run this way multiple times before on patrols. A thick screen of foliage concealed us but it never hurt to be too careful, especially when all the townsfolk were on the lookout for a wild, man-eating beast.

Once we were clear once more, Angela asked me, "How can you be comfortable with her on your back like that?" I stiffened a bit, still hearing distaste in her tone.

"My shoulders are strong, it's no hardship. Besides, I'm more comfortable having her close to me."

I heard her sigh, but she gave no other comment. I decided then and there that I didn't like this version of my friend. This wasn't the same Angela who was so kind and welcoming to everyone. My freshman year, she had been the first person to reach out to me and welcome me to the school. We had been close ever since and not once have I ever heard her speak badly of someone else, _especially _someone she didn't know. I chalked it up to the new wolf within her.

"Ange, look. They're people, alright? Just like you and I." I paused and chuckled, then amended myself. "Well, maybe a _little_ bit different, but all still human enough. They have feelings, desires, wants, wishes. Yes, they're vampires, but we're lycans!"

She gave no response.

"I know your instincts are hard to fight at first, but you'll master them eventually. We're not the only supernatural creatures around you know."

I felt her surprise. "Really? Who, or _what_, else is there?"

"Well, you know my friends down at La Push, how they randomly just dumped me?"

"Yeah, of course. You were a wreck for like a solid week."

"Right, well, it turns out that they're shapeshifters. They turn into wolves as well, just not the same as we are. Their transformation is triggered by vampires, as a sort of defense mechanism-"

"So they _are_ dangerous," Angela stuck in.

I sighed and slowed to a stop, finally turning around and eying the small dark wolf in front of me. She looked up at me in trepidation, very much the image of a child with their hand caught in the cookie jar. _She's testing you,_ my gut whispered. _She's the young pup, you're the adult here. Show her right from wrong, it's your duty._ "Vampires are dangerous," I said, and when my voice rang out it held all the strength of a blow to the gut, a deep tenor to it that shook the core. Isabella was strong within me now, as we defended our mate. "Most vampires will kill humans mercilessly, some even for sport. They are ruled over by a cruel and merciless council who kill their own as easily as they kill their meals. Most vampires are cold, undead things. The Cullens are _not_ _most vampires._" I stared her down and felt as my eyes slowly merged from amber to the glowing red I had grown used to.

I went on. "They resist the urge for blood, they hunt animals, their patriarch is a doctor, _you're_ doctor! He healed you and brought you back to health, all while his instincts were urging him to gorge himself on your blood. So yes, Angela, trust your instincts when they urge you but above them? Trust me. Because if I believe in them, so should you, and if they can resist their instincts when they know their mind is wiser than their primal urges, so should you. Is that clear?" I stood, stoic, and waited for her answer.

If I were any judge I would say she was having time drinking it all in. I knew from experience that her mind was likely half fogged with new senses, with the new feeling in her gut, the instincts screaming in her mind's ear. I knew it was confusing but my own wolf had taken the reins. She understood that Angela was in my pack now and as her alpha it was my duty to set her straight. We could be humans in our other skins but for now we both needed the order, less we fall apart. And the Cullens were as much a part of my family as she was, now.

Finally, Angela nodded. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I just- This is all so confusing. I'll try though, I really will."

My face softened with a smile. "I know you will. I know the human in you is as kind and understanding as they come. That's why we're best friends, after all."

Angela once again seemed surprised and I wondered if she had still to connect the Bella she knew in her memory to the Bella that stood before her. Before I could ask, Alice broke in. "You two aren't arguing, are you? That's an awful lot of growling."

I looked up at her over my shoulder and said, "We were, but I think we're okay now. Angela is having trouble separating what her instincts tell her about vampires from what I'm telling her about you and your family. But I think she's set straight now."

"Oh," Alice said, concerned. "Well, alright then. I can't wait to get her back in her human skin so we can sort this all out. From what you've said of her she seems very nice."

"She really is," I said as we turned back again and continued on, a little faster now. Alice wasn't the only one eager to get everyone on the same language plane. "The wolf has her a little out of character, is all. From what I've seen in her and what I've seen in myself I'd say character changes aren't so uncommon."

"Really? How so?" Alice asked, humor in her voice.

"Well, for instance, before I changed for the first time I was pretty meek. Shy, no confidence, quiet. But the wolf in me is an alpha and now my human is an alpha too."

"You? Meek? Seriously?" Alice asked with a laugh.

"I am serious! And I'd hazard a guess that says Angela's wolf, being young and maybe just it's nature, is more cautious and less trusting than she is as a human. She'll level out soon."

"What are you two talking about, if you don't mind me asking? This is all so strange, you know. Not knowing English in this... this..." She groped for the proper noun.

"Form? Body? Skin? Any of those will do. And I'm not sure why you don't understand English, perhaps we can figure it out when we get back at the mansion. And, to answer your question, we were talking about how shifting changes people. I'm not the meek little mortal I was two weeks ago, and I wager two weeks from now you'll be very different too."

"Mansion? And different how?"

"Well, your appetite is going to explode and you'll get a hell of a lot taller, too. Your senses as a human will be a lot stronger. And, well..."

"What is it?" I could feel her interest in everything I was saying, strong and nearly palpable in the air around us.

I sighed and thought of the best way to phrase this. "Well, death doesn't come easily to us, by conventional means. We can be killed, but death for death's sake? Not exactly."

"I don't understand," Angela said slowly.

We neared the Cullen mansion so I slowed us to a walk. I motioned with my head for her to pull up beside me as we padded in. I towered over her and she had to crane her neck to look at me. "Sickness nor age nor ailment could kill us. Poison and wounds might, but beyond that our kind is immortal."

She stopped in her tracks beside me, but it was a few paces before I stopped as well. For some reason I could not bear to look at her, but instead closed my eyes and waited.

"What?"

"I know Ange, it's weird, but-"

"You can't be serious!" She burst out. "I can't leave my family behind like that, what about my brothers? What about Ben?" She sounded close to tears, even though I knew these bodies could not cry.

"I'm sorry. There might be a way to-" Thoughts of wolfsbane and all it's uses flooded me. Maybe it would be possible to cure her, but I couldn't tell her that just yet. "Look. We'll discuss this all, but first you need to get back into your human skin, alright?"

We stood just beyond the Cullen's lawn, still concealed. Alice slid off my back then leaned against my large forearm once her feet were back on the ground. "Now what?" She asked, looking up at me.

"We need to get her back into her human skin, for one. And for another thing, I think she's a bit more fragile than I first assumed. I think the shock is about to wear off. Can you let Carlisle know? Maybe have Esme make her some tea or cocoa or something?"

Alice stood on her tiptoes and planted a gentle kiss on the tip of my leathery nose. "Of course." She jogged off towards the house at a perfectly normal speed, for Angela's sakes I'm sure.

I looked back at my friend and sighed. "I know what you're going through, Ange. More than what you're going through. Two weeks ago I got socked in the face by a shapeshifter and a night later wolfed out without any clue what was going on. No one to teach me, no one to tell me what the hell had just happened. I just ran around the woods in my backyard from dusk to dawn, trying to learn. Eventually I shifted back though, and a few days after that I found out Alice was my soul mate. Granted a few days after _that_ my mother came out of no where, poisoned me with wolfsbane, caused me to lose control and rampage through the town and we _both_ know how that turned out." My encouraging talk turned bitter and I clamped down hard on my words, looking away.

I took a deep breath before continuing.

"My point is this can be good and bad, sometimes one or the other but usually at the same time." Angela was watching me with rapt attention, soaking it all in. "It's weird, but you'll settle in quickly if you're half as bright as we all think you are." I gave her a quick smile, and she returned a shadow of it, just a flicker, but I decided it was better than nothing. My voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't tell anyone, but I honestly think it's kind of cool."

She giggled and I smiled.

"See, there you go. Just keep it relaxed, alright? We're not Children of the Moon-"

"What?"

"Werewolves, sorry. Good old fashion werewolves, we won't wolf out at random. We can control it. I mean, that and the fact that we're faster, stronger, _way_ better looking," I joked around, but my tone was dead serious when I began again. "It's just something you need time to adjust to. And Angela, you have to understand that I am so, _so_ sorry that this happened to you. I would take it back if I could."

Some of the guard in her eyes dropped. "I know Bella. When you touched me it was like... It was like everything you were thinking of in that instant was pushed into my brain. I could feel your worry and fear. I could feel how urgent it was that I listened to you and... And I could feel the wolf. And I understood for the moment, but I still don't _understand_." Her voice implored me for the acceptance of her words, and begged me to help. She seemed, in that moment, very broken and scared.

"That's where I come in," I said, sidling up to her and gently bumping her shoulder. "I can teach you anything you want to know. Granted, I'm new at this too, but there are some differences between a born Lycan and a created one. I have a very good teacher," I said with a smile.

Angela seemed to accept that. "Alright. I trust you, Bella." For the moment, it seemed like that was that. "So how do I get my two legs back?"

"Close your eyes and think," I said gently. "Your human body is still in there somewhere, waiting for your command. It might take you some time to get used to finding it, but once you know you'll be able to switch between skins as easily as sliding in and out of a pool of water."

I watched her face carefully, watched as her brows knit, watched as she winced. _It's hurting her_, I thought with a frown. It hadn't hurt me to shift back. It hadn't been exactly comfortable the first time, but it wasn't like this. _Her body is young, new to the world,_ my mind whispered. _It too must learn._

"Fight the pain, Angela. You have to master this new form, it rebels against you."

Her expression grew more severe and her jaw set. Finally, with a gasp and a shudder the wolf warped and warped inside of her and the human Angela I knew and loved tumbled forth. Luckily for her it seemed that even created Lycans kept their clothes. She wore cloth shorts and a simple tee, but what drew my eye were her scars. Several raked from her shoulder to the middle of her forearm on one side and teeth marks had clamped around the other. A scar ran from her forehead, parting her eyebrow, and continuing onto her cheek on the right side of her face. Her hands and legs too bore scratches and scars. _They are important marks, and they will not fade_, Isabella told me. I had no clue why she was now so vocal when she had hardly ever spoken to me in this body before. I could only hope it meant she and I grew closer. _Other Lycans will see her and know her as one of your thralls._ I wasn't sure I liked the sound of that, so I chose to ignore her for now.

Angela stood panting in front of me, staring at her very human fingers and smiling, clearly used to the scars. "Alright," she panted. "Okay." She looked up to me and I tried to divert my gaze quickly, but her eyes were now much sharper and she wasn't fooled. "Oh, right. These are, uh-"

"I'm sorry," I cut her off, feeling the familiar self-loathing bubble forth. I had nearly beaten it back after Rose's pep talk, but seeing Angela scarred and in person was a whole different ball game.

She walked forward and gently, hesitantly, put a hand on my shoulder. "Bella, it's fine. Maybe they'll fade, and isn't there scar removal treatments and stuff? It's no big deal. Battle scars are all the rage these days." I knew she was trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't work.

I looked her square in the eye and said, "I don't think those are going to fade, Ange. Now come on, let's go on inside. Esme's a great cook and you're probably starving. I know Carlisle has a lot of questions too." I left her no time to fear being in a house full of vampires, and instead trucked on ahead just hoping she would follow. She did.

We pushed through the front door to find a unsurprisingly normal scene, other than the fact that the books were still stacked and piled as we had left them. I could smell food cooking in the kitchen and I heard faint piano music playing from the studio room. Jasper and Emmett sat on the far couch craned over a car magazine and Rose sat on Emmett's free side, one hand flipping through a book and the other on his knee. Carlisle was leaning over the crate, pulling at one of the foreign books we could not interpret as of yet. Alice was no where to be seen. They all looked up as we walked through, either smiling or nodding.

"Well guys, mission accomplished! Or phase one anyway. Also, Esme, I don't know what you're cooking but it smells like heaven."

I heard the woman's tinkering laughter from the kitchen. "I'm making garlic bread and lasagna, is that okay?"

I chuckled and walked over to the bar facing into the kitchen space, perching on a bar stool. "I adore Italian food, you know that! I'm good, how about you Ange?"

Angela seemed too busy processing this influx of information for words, so she just smiled and nodded.

"Where's Alice?" I asked, looking around. Not that I'd say so if put to the question, but having her out of sight was starting to make me nervous. I chalked it up to a wolf thing and scanned the room behind us once again.

"I'm here!" Alice said, sliding down the banister from the upper level. "Sorry, I charging your phone for you. Charlie is going to call you in about forty seconds and the battery was going to die." She jogged over to my side, handing me my small droid and bumping into my shoulder.

I laughed and grabbed the proffered phone, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Thanks. What will he want?"

"He's going to ask you if it's okay for you and Argo to go meet Bob this evening."

My cell rang. Angela looked three parts confused ad one part stunned, but I'd have to answer her questions later. Charlie's grimacing face popped onto my screen and I smiled, sliding the answer bar across. "Hey Dad!"

"Hey Bells, where you at?" He had his father voice on, a concerned gruffness that honestly made me smile every time I heard it.

"The Cullens still. How about you? How's your Saturday treating you? How's Argo?"

"Doing fine, but I'm getting the heeby jeebies with this dog, Bella. He doesn't leave his crate, he just sits there all hunched up. I called Bob about half an hour ago, he wants to meet you and see Argo for himself."

"So soon?" I asked, trying to sound surprised. "What time?"

"'Bout five."

"Yeah, that sounds fine. I'll be home around four thirty, then."

"Alright, then. I'll see you."

"Bye, Dad," I said with a smile and clicked the end call button on my phone. "Well that's that, then! I hope Bob can help Argo, or at least teach me how to."

"You don't need much help, though," Alice said. "You did great this morning, got him to eat and drink and everything."

I shrugged. "I know, but there's a lot to learn that the wolf can't teach me." I caught Angela's look of utter despair and smiled sympathetically. "You probably want some filling in, don't you?"

"Please," she sighed, letting her head fall into her hands. I chuckled and led her over to the couch and dug in.

"First, if you don't mind me asking, as your doctor, why aren't you in the hospital?" Carlisle asked with a kind, easy going smile.

Angela swallowed hard, steeled herself, then looked him straight in the eye. I was both surprised and proud of her effort. "I'm not sure. One thing I knew a nurse was checking my scars and telling me I would be released for a while and then, not even an hour later, a group of new nurses swept in and told me I was free to go, that my parents had been called and everything. We didn't sign anything on the way out either. It was very fast, quiet too. No fuss."

Carlisle looked deeply troubled by that, but simply said, "Well alright then. I'll have a word about it when I get back to the hospital. But for now," he gestured to me and I began.

I started by telling her my story, of how Jake had gotten sick and the Quilleute kids had left me. I told her of Jake socking me in the face and how I had fallen sick after that, how Carlisle had treated me and how I had met Alice in the hospital. I told her of _my _first shift and how confusing it was having no one around. I told her of my dreams and how Isabella was slowly teaching me things. It was then that we diverged into talking about the Volturi, as they had sent us the books and then of vampires in general, and then shifters, and finally of Lycans as a species.

"I think one of the differences between a born Lycans and a created one is the form you take after your first shift," I said. "I don't think you can manipulate your shape as I can, but I'm sure your other body will grow into a full fledged adult in time."

"What do you mean, manipulate your shape?" Angela asked, and it was then I realized I had never shown her anything but one form.

"Well, like this," I said, slipping into the form she knew, one with white fur and golden eyes. From there I became a small dark wolf with green eyes and then my largest, favorite form: the massive red-eyed black wolf. "I can talk in this form as well, something I'm not sure you will be able to do."

"You also got into my head a little bit, and pushed some of your thoughts onto me. Is that something I can do?" She asked as I changed back.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure, honestly. I could get into the shifter's minds too, even a bit more clearly than I could with yours. It might just be because your other body is young, though. Time will tell."

Angela ran a concerned hand through her hair. "I still feel so shaky," she said. "I don't feel contained. I'm worried that I'll- I'll-" She stumbled over her words.

"Shift?" I asked gently.

"Right. That. Shift. I'm worried it will happen and I won't be able to help it," she said in a quiet voice.

"Before the wolfsbane, I had no problems with control," I said quietly. "But I'm not sure if it will be the same with you. I don't know that the wolf in me was very restless the first week and honestly still is. The more time you have in that second skin the easier it is. She just needs to stretch her legs too, is all."

Angela nodded slowly. "So, how will I change? You know, _me_? You're taller, I can see that, but I feel just the same as ever."

"Well," Carlisle spoke up, "We know from a fact that all Lycans, born or created, develop heightened senses. I'm not sure if you will experience a growth spurt like Bella did."

"We may find the answer eventually in our books," Edward followed him, "but for now it's uncertain."

Angela looked down at her feet.

"Hey," I said, shaking her shoulder gently. "It'll be alright, okay?"

We distracted her by telling her what we knew so far and what we had learned just recently from the books. We spoke to her of history and legends, I read her that ridiculous pamphlet, and showed her some of the finer pieces of illustration within them, all while she and I voraciously tore into Esme's lasagna. Eventually the time came for Angela to return home before she was missed and for me to go meet Bob. As nervous as I knew she was, she did her best not to show it. She had settled in fairly well with the Cullens and I knew there was hope there. I waved goodbye to the family and pulled Alice into a quick, gentle kiss before Angela and I wolfed out and loped into the forest. Angela took it just as hard, but said not a word of complaint as we jogged in the general direction of her house.

"So, does Charlie know?" she asked along the way.

"That I'm a Lycan? No. I'm not sure if I'm going to tell him-"

"Not that, I mean about _Alice_." Angela said with a wicked, wolfish grin. "For the record why didn't _I_ know about Alice? I mean hell, there was a whole week's span of time you could have filled me in! How long have you been gay for, anyways?"

If I had been human I would have blushed, and as it stood my skin definitely felt hotter than average under my fur. "Jeez, I don't know Ange, it was just kind of a sudden thing. I met her and it was like bam, soul mate. It might happen to you too, here soon. When are you seeing Ben?"

She fell silent for a moment. "I didn't think about that. This evening I guess." Another pause and then in a slightly panicked tone, "Bella, what if he's _not_ the one for me? I mean, I'm just a high school student, I'm only eighteen! I don't know if I'm ready for a real soul mate yet!"

I chuckled slightly under my breath. "Well, if Ben isn't your soul mate than he isn't. That doesn't mean you can't still date him, you just have to be comfortable with the knowledge that he isn't the one made for you. Like you said, it's only high school. And if he is the one for you, then great!"

"But he's not- He won't live for as long as we will."

Quietly, I said, "He has options, though."

That put a stopped to her conversation, and I would hazard a guess that her mind was a swirl with possibilities. We slowed to a walk as we neared her home. "So," she said. "I guess this is a pretty big secret to keep, huh?"

I just nodded.

She sighed and closed her eyes, struggling once again into her human skin. She gasped and winced as her human skin pushed back to the surface, groaning and leaning into a tree for support. "This can't get easy soon enough," she grumbled.

I watched her like a hawk. Over all, she was taking it about as well as I had. Granted, she wasn't exactly a dramatic person. She was rational and patient and I knew she would settle into things in time. Meanwhile, I would be by her side every step of the way.

**A/N: Okay! So, yes? No? Maybe so? This was hard to turn out but after reading all the the reviews you guys dished out, and SERIOUSLY YOU MADE MY HEART GO BOOM BOOM, I figured better late than never! All of you who said such kind things, I just... I can't... *heart attack***

**The progression in this story is pretty slow, how do you all feel about that? I'm not bringing in the big plot or the big baddy right from the start, I really prefer to ease my stories along. I hope no one is taking that as boring? I mean, that's kind of more chapters for you so I hope you'll forgive me (:**

**And now, SHOUTOUTS! (*sniffle* You guys are so awesome...)**

**GUEST1 4/24/13: Hmm, I haven't thought about making Alice part of the pack, in that they would act as if she were a member. That's an interesting thought though, I could definitely work with something like that. **

**BRIONNARAIN14: I'm thrilled to inspire so much dedication in you, I hope it was worth the time!**

**MICHAEL VANDEBROEK: They ARE idiots, but they're important, plot driving idiots. I'm sorry to say it, but we're not done with the pack quite yet :P**

**SKALD OF FREYA: Lovely to hear from you, as always! I'm not quite sure what to do with the Volturi yet, but I really kind of want to do this big plot drama bomb reluctant allies kind of thing maybe? Like it would be kind of off the wall, but I do have thoughts I am thinking revolving around our favorite Italian fuddy duddies :P Argo's rehabilitation won't be too focal, mostly because I need them to get into their groove pretty quickly here, but you're definitely right in the companion/familiar sense. He's got a paw in all sorts of plots! As far as lore goes, I find myself text blocking everything I want to tell you guys about them, which can get boring to read, so I think I'm going to introduce it more slowly, in a stretched out sort of way, so never fear on that account. Also, I'm really glad you liked Angela's shifting because I REALLY liked writing it. And don't think the road for her is smooth silk because of this chapter either, I'm just waiting for those reviews to come in . Also, I did catch you response to the-reviewer-that-must-not-be-named even though it appears to be down now (reported maybe? I'm not sure :/) Anyways, thank you for defending the integrity of this story. If I weren't planning on maintaining an author-ly distance from flames and distasteful comments, I'd likely have said the same myself. So, truly thank you for that and as always, thank you for a lovely review!**

**MANA TATSUMIYA: Thanks for the benefit of the doubt! I'm glad you've enjoyed it. There are so many stories with this subject matter I have tried my best to make it stand out from the crowd. I hope to hear from you again, if only to let me know if I begin slipping from that path (:**

**NEB87: No sweat, I'm glad you're back now though! I'm not going to bring her mate in any time soon, probably not until the big baddies are brought in, which is still a ways down the road. This story is really more Saga than Fic, it seems. Can you believe when I was writing this at first I wasn't even planning to upload it? It was just gonna be a little pet project pick me up for myself, and now it's become the most popular story I've ever written!**

**BENEVOLENT CONTRADICTION: ...o_o I love Skyrim, first off. You've officially earned brownie points in my book, just for that. And the fact that you were able to pull yourself from it's grasp to read my story means a lot to me because I know how hard it can be. (Hi, My name is Sunshine and I'm addicted to Skyrim. *Group response: Hi, Sunshine.*) (Also, I have to recommend the fic 'Honor Among Thieves: The Unwilling Nightengale' by MadameHyde. It has taken over all my waking hours for the past week. HONESTLY the most amazing fic I've ever read of any fandom ever. Please, do yourself a favor, and read it.) Okay, obsession averted, I'm really glad you like this story! Your kind words are so amazingly inspirational to me, I just want to give you a hug. Here, have an e-cookie! *hands e-cookie***

**And that's that, folks! I hope the minor wait was worth not having a supa crappy chappie, yes? Let me know what you think, any ideas, questions, comments, or concerns! Eitehr PM me or review them and I'll do my best to get back to you (: Toodles, see you next week! (Or later this week, depending on it my internet holds...)**


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